The Mayor’s Corner – Highway construction brings buzz to Lockhart

By Mayor Lew White

There is a buzz in Lockhart these days. It is a buzz caused by the exciting potential of SH 130 to transform our city. This highway will be extremely important in the transportation of goods and people along our corridor and promises to create greater economic development opportunities for Lockhart.

As the Barbeque Capital of Texas, Lockhart is already

a Central Texas destination. We are a friendly and thriving community that offers small town living with big city advantages. With SH 130, these advantages are about to grow tremendously with easier access to those looking to visit our beautiful city. Plus, our own residents will also enjoy greater access to the surrounding metro communities.

Now,  I realize change can be difficult, and while we can’t stop progress, we can certainly plan for it. If Lockhart is to continue to thrive, we must continue to attract new businesses and people. We have a solid vision of where we are going and we are going to use SH 130 as a tool for growing as we are. Lockhart is ready to welcome new businesses, new families and new growth.

This does not mean that the face of our community will change. Instead, through our careful planning, we will retain Lockhart’s historic feel and excellent quality of life while benefiting tremendously from the increased traffic encouraged by SH 130. We see this as translating into new tourism and commercial and residential development opportunities for Lockhart. Our county and our neighboring cities also stand to benefit from the infusion of new businesses, new jobs and new people.

To prepare for this, major improvements to our historic downtown are underway to make our city even more attractive to visitors. We are planning a multi-use development along the historic square to promote pedestrian traffic and are looking to add historic walking tours that show off our beautiful city.  Our goal is to give our visitors greater incentive to enjoy their time in Lockhart and encourage them to shop in our popular boutique and antique stores and bakery, check out our Saturday farmer’s market and best of all, enjoy a plate of the best barbeque in Texas. In short, we want our visitors to fall in love with Lockhart.

SH 130 will transform our region. I hope you will join me in welcoming its addition to our city, and envisioning a future in Lockhart that is brighter and more attractive than ever before.