Governor celebrates completion of Samsung highway
Gov. Greg Abbott said the recently completed Samsung Highway will be the “gateway to the largest foreign direct investment in the history of the state of Texas” during a ceremony Friday morning.
“The main thing I would like to convey today is how proud the state of Texas is to partner with Samsung,” Abbott said. “You are a tremendous partner. “With each passing day, Samsung leaves a deeper legacy in the history of our great state.” Abbott came to Taylor as part of a ribbon-cutting event on Friday, June 7, which took place on the same highway.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Russ Boles (left) presents Governor Greg Abbott with an honorary traffic signal. Abbott said he planned to hang it somewhere in his office.
The governor was paired with Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell, District 4 Commissioner Russ Boles, Samsung Construction President Chanhoon Park, and TxDOT Austin District Engineer Tucker Ferguson.
While parts of Samsung Highway have been open for some time, the event commemorated the completion of its Segment 1 and Segment 2 projects.
“Samsung Highway will provide our engineers, partners and suppliers with safe and reliable access to the Taylor site,” said Park, who oversees the company’s construction projects around the world. “It will also help us deliver our product to our customers.”
Gravell, who largely served as master of ceremonies for the ribbon cutting, told Abbott that he has more plans and hopes for Samsung Austin Semiconductor’s fabulous Taylor plant.
The county judge said he wants Williamson County not to have the largest semiconductor manufacturing complex in the state, but the largest in the world.
“I want to advance the semiconductor industry from right here in this cornfield in Taylor, Texas, with our partner Samsung,” Gravell said.
The highway ribbon cutting also celebrated the completion of several road projects in the southwest Taylor area, including the reconstruction and expansion of County Road 401, improvements to County Road 404 and Farm to Market 973, and the realignment of the water line in CR 404.
Boles said the CR 401 work not only widened the road, but added a traffic signal at Texas 79. He said FM 973 now has turn lanes and a turn signal at the Samsung Austin Semiconductor factory.
Lastly, he said Samsung Highway created a new connection from the semiconductor to the future East Wilco Highway.
“A good road, like the Samsung Highway, means safety and opportunity,” Boles said. “This road, along with other improvements in southeast Williamson County, means great opportunities for those who live in Taylor, Hutto and eastern Williamson County.”
Boles added that he hopes the projects will reduce traffic.
Ferguson talked about when he and his TxDOT district initially learned about the highway project.
Ferguson said he initially did not believe the transportation project would be completed on the county’s schedule because of design and approval timelines. However, he said county officials already had plans and the go-ahead by the time it started.
“They had this idea for many, many years,” Ferguson said. “That’s the partnership I would really like to talk to Williamson County about. We talk about partnerships and partnerships throughout our district and across the state, but I would say there is probably no other that matches the quality and aggressiveness of Williamson County.”
Elected officials from Taylor, Hutto, Pflugerville, Williamson County and the state of Texas pose for a photo to celebrate the completion of the Samsung Highway project on Friday, June 7. Photos by Jason Hennington
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