Finish line in sight for Nature Heights projects
Work is well underway on the Nature Heights Extension project in northeast Marble Falls, which should provide a new route connecting U.S. 281 and Mormon Mill Road. Photo by Marble Falls City Engineer Jeff Prato
Pivotal projects on Nature Heights Drive are underway and could revolutionize travel and property values in northeast Marble Falls. A new connecting route between U.S. 281 and Mormon Mill Road, along with an improved low-water crossing, could both be completed by mid-2027.
On Tuesday, Sept. 15, Marble Falls City Council approved a roughly $2 million construction agreement with M&C Fonseca Construction Co. to build out a Federal Emergency Management Agency-funded low-water crossing on Nature Heights Drive near the U.S. 281 intersection. Construction of that crossing should begin in mid-October and be finished by June 2027.
The ongoing construction of the Nature Heights Extension project should also be finished by March 2027 according to Marble Falls City Engineer Jeff Prato. That project will provide a new route that will allow vehicles and pedestrians to travel between U.S. 281 and Mormon Mill Road.
“For existing residents, it will give accessibility to (U.S. 281) without having to go through the Mormon Mill intersection near Home Depot,” Prato told DailyTrib. “For future development, it is going to significantly increase property values.”
Prato explained that the new utilities, sidewalks, and open road will likely provide a big boost to property values, commerce, and development along Nature Heights Drive and the area surrounding the work on the new extension and low-water crossing. The extension project is creating another 3,600 feet of road way, opening up the hills in northeast Marble Falls to further development and granting access to previously unavailable utilities.
Construction began on the extension project in December 2025 after a $5 million bid from Packsaddle Management was approved by City Council.
The low-water crossing is mostly funded through a FEMA grant for about $2 million. The city is liable for 35.4 percent of the total cost of the project, which should max out at about $663,000 depending on final costs. That project was deemed necessary to allow emergency vehicles to cross the crossing during high-water events, which has historically been difficult due to its low elevation.
The Nature Heights Extension is decades in the making, and its completion should have a noticeable impact on traffic for residents and commuters according to Prato.
“Nature Heights will soon be an arterial thoroughfare for the city,” he said.