AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Texas Department of Transportation and local, county and state leaders celebrated the completion of road improvements along State Hwy. 71 in Travis County Friday, TxDOT announced in a release. Officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the project's completion, with upgrades centered along the state highway east of SH 130. The 2.5-mile-long project -- dubbed the SH 71 at Ross Road and Kellam Road project -- featured the construction of overpasses at the two intersections along with new frontage roads. The $70 million project kicked off construction work back in February 2021. Alongside road improvements, the project featured enhancements for pedestrians and cyclists, as well. “This project has enhanced safety and improved mobility by allowing drivers on SH 71 to flow through the area without stopping at traffic signals,” TxDOT Austin District Engineer Tucker Ferguson said in the release. “We are well on our way to removing all traffic signals on SH 71, allowing drivers to travel from Austin to Houston without encountering a single traffic signal.”