TxDOT and county driveway permits for a metal building around Austin

Whichever agency maintains the road. TxDOT's Access Management Manual applies to every class of state highway, and to build a new driveway or change an existing one on a state highway the property owner, or the owner's authorized representative, contacts the local district office and submits Form 1058. For all six counties here that district is the Austin District. A driveway onto a county-maintained road belongs to the county, and the county records draw the line themselves: Travis County issues no driveway permit on a road it does not maintain, and Burnet County's record says a driveway onto a state highway is a TxDOT matter whatever the county says.

Where the driveway sits in the whole sequence, from the jurisdiction question through the slab, the permit and the erector, is on building a metal building in the Austin area. On a commercial metal building the county driveway permit is rarely a separate errand: Travis County usually issues its non-residential driveway permit with the non-residential development permit, and Caldwell County's commercial site construction application carries the driveway application where one applies. On an equipment or RV storage building on a ranch road it is often the first county form filed: Lee County wants a 911 address before any county permit application.

SourcesTexas Department of Transportation, Access Management Manual, chapter 2 section 4, permits, and the Use of Right of Way by Others Manual, access driveways, read 2026-09-20; Texas Department of Transportation, Austin District, and Austin District contacts and offices, read 2026-09-20; Travis County TNR Development Services, commercial driveway permit, read 2026-09-20; The source was read and does not list this.Burnet County, Development Services, read 2026-09-20; Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, and the subdivision and development fee schedule, read 2026-09-20; Lee County requirements for permits to construct access driveways on county right of way, read 2026-09-20; Lee County Development Services Department, read 2026-09-20.

Form 1058 to the district office, with no fee and no review period published. The manual's permits page states no permit fee and no application review period; the only time figure on it is the 24-hour notice. Two things gate the start of work in the state right of way: a fully executed permit in the applicant's hands, and that notice given to TxDOT. An inspector reviews the construction afterward. A completed Form 1058 is required whenever a new access driveway is built or an existing one is modified, and the permit has to comply with 43 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 11, Subchapter C and the Access Management Manual.

None of the TxDOT pages read describes an online driveway permit application for the Austin District, and neither district page mentions driveway permits at all, so the route is the district office: 7901 N. I-35, Austin, TX 78753, main phone (512) 832-7000, covering 11 counties including all six here. Its contacts page lists area engineer offices for Bastrop, Burnet, North Travis County, Georgetown and Williamson County, and South Travis and Hays County, plus maintenance offices including Lockhart, Taylor and Lincoln in Lee County.

SourcesThe manual was read and states no fee and no review period.Texas Department of Transportation, Access Management Manual, chapter 2 section 4, permits, read 2026-09-20; Texas Department of Transportation, Austin District, and Austin District contacts and offices, read 2026-09-20.

Five of the six county sites list a permit for a driveway onto a county road, and no two ask for the same thing.

SourcesTravis County TNR Development Services, commercial driveway permit, read 2026-09-20; Williamson County, Road and Bridge, and the Williamson County Driveway Policy, read 2026-09-20; Bastrop County Development Services, application fees and residential driveway requirements, read 2026-09-20; Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, section 4.6 and Appendix C, read 2026-09-20; Lee County requirements for permits to construct access driveways on county right of way, read 2026-09-20; The source was read and does not list this.Burnet County, Development Services, read 2026-09-20.

A Travis County Driveway Permit for any driveway onto a maintained county road, from the Transportation and Natural Resources permit desk at (512) 854-4215. The county's definition of development covers driveways and right-of-way work along with the building, which is why the non-residential driveway permit is usually issued with the non-residential development permit rather than as a separate file. The standards are specific: a rural culvert is corrugated metal pipe of at least 18 inches, or a 15 by 21 inch oval, with concrete safety end treatments, and a commercial driveway runs 12 to 25 feet wide. The FY2026 driveway permit fee is $165, rising to $190 on October 1, 2026.

The county's Non-Residential Development Checklist, revised May 11, 2023, adds two driveway lines to a commercial site. A new county driveway comes with a traffic impact analysis determination worksheet, and the checklist's 45 percent impervious cover limit holds unless the driveway is on a state road. The record stops there: it does not say what the worksheet's answer triggers, so that comes from the permit desk. The rest of the checklist, the acre and 10,000-square-foot lines, is on pad grading and site prep, and the whole county picture is on the Travis County page.

SourcesTravis County TNR Development Services, commercial driveway permit, read 2026-09-20; Travis County TNR Development Services, Commercial Site Plan, read 2026-09-20; Travis County TNR, non-residential development checklist, read 2026-09-20.

Yes. The county's pages answer the building permit question by pointing to the County Engineer's Road and Bridge Division, which issues the Certificate of Compliance, and say nothing else is needed from that office unless a driveway is being built. That division requires a Driveway Permit to build or modify a driveway connecting to a county-maintained road, and a Utility Permit for any utility work in the county right-of-way, both applied for through MyGovernmentOnline.

The Driveway Policy adopted December 7, 2021 sets the specifics: a minimum 18-inch culvert, a 24-foot minimum length with concrete safety end treatment, a site plan with the application for a commercial, industrial or multifamily driveway, 100-foot spacing for commercial driveways on roads under 40 mph, and a Floodplain Development Permit where the driveway is in a regulated floodplain. County staff specify the pipe size; the owner buys and installs it. Neither the Road and Bridge page nor the 32-page policy states a dollar fee; the online instructions say fees are invoiced after review. The rest of the county's record, including the fire code permit a commercial building still needs, is on the Williamson County page.

SourcesThe source was read and does not list this.Williamson County, frequently asked questions, infrastructure and developers, read 2026-09-20; Williamson County, Road and Bridge, and the Williamson County Driveway Policy, read 2026-09-20.

Three counties, three different forms, and none of them borrows another's answer.

• Bastrop County: driveway permits are handled by Development Services, (512) 581-7176, with a $50 fee, or $75 if the driveway is built without a permit. The Temporary Driveway Application form states that a permit is valid 180 days from issuance, extendable once by 180 days if asked 30 days before it expires. The standards in the record are the residential ones: a 12 to 24 foot throat, an all-weather surface, and a corrugated metal or reinforced concrete culvert of at least 15 inches. For a commercial drive, confirm the dimensions with the same office.

• Caldwell County: any driveway construction, expansion or rehabilitation, utility work, fill, grading or paving in the county right-of-way requires a Work in the Public Right-of-Way Permit under the Development Ordinance. Up to three driveways with a combined width of 30 feet may be permitted per lot, and right-of-way permits expire six months from issuance. The application is the same form as the floodplain application and goes to the county's contract engineer, and on a commercial site it goes in with the Commercial Site Construction Permit application. Sanitation and Development Services, 1700 FM 2720, Lockhart, (512) 398-1803.

• Lee County: the county picks the pipe standing on the lot. Rules amended August 14, 2023 send the precinct commissioner out to approve the entrance and set the culvert size and length at the owner's expense, count retail businesses as commercial, and want the drive within 25 feet of the 911 address. A commercial drive there is built by a county-approved contractor and inspected by the county, so ask that office which contractors it approves before anyone prices the work. The fees and the penalties for skipping the permit are in the table above. Development Services, Lee County Annex, Giddings, (979) 542-3178.

SourcesBastrop County Development Services, application fees and residential driveway requirements, read 2026-09-20; Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, section 4.6 and Appendix C, read 2026-09-20; Lee County requirements for permits to construct access driveways on county right of way, read 2026-09-20; Lee County Development Services Department, read 2026-09-20.

The county's pages list none. The Burnet County pages read on 2026-09-20, the development permits page and the Development Services office page, list no driveway or culvert permit for a county road; the office lists 911 addressing, septic and development permits, subdivision development, floodplain development, outdoor burning and FEMA flood maps. That is what the site shows, not a finding that the county has no rule, so a driveway onto a county road in Burnet County starts with a call to Development Services at (512) 756-5420. A driveway onto a state highway there is a TxDOT matter whatever the county says. The county's $25 Class A building permit and the rest of its record are on the Burnet County page.

SourcesThe source was read and does not list this.Burnet County, Development Services, read 2026-09-20; Burnet County, on-site sewage facilities and development permits, read 2026-09-20.

The city on its own streets, and TxDOT or the city on a state highway. TxDOT's manual says the permitting process inside a municipality can be transferred to that city at its request with TxDOT approval, so a state highway driveway inside Austin, Georgetown, Round Rock or another city may be the city's file rather than the district's; which office holds it is a question for the district. A driveway onto a city street is the city's, and this site states a city rule only from the city's own page.

The extraterritorial jurisdiction is where the records overlap. Travis County's checklist wants a city signature or permit before a county permit issues in any city's ETJ. Williamson County's FAQ says to check with the city if the property is in a city or its ETJ. Caldwell County's ordinance says ETJ permitting follows any interlocal agreement, and where none exists both the municipality and the county approve, with the more stringent provisions prevailing. Austin issues no new construction permit in its ETJ and sends those applicants to the county.

SourcesTexas Department of Transportation, Access Management Manual, chapter 2 section 4, permits, and the Use of Right of Way by Others Manual, access driveways, read 2026-09-20; City of Austin Development Services, relocation permit, and City of Austin Planning, jurisdictional matters, read 2026-09-20; Travis County TNR, non-residential development checklist, read 2026-09-20; The source was read and does not list this.Williamson County, frequently asked questions, infrastructure and developers, read 2026-09-20; Caldwell County Development Ordinance, revised February 14, 2023, section 1.1, read 2026-09-20.

Whoever sets the pipe works to a size the county picks, and the records say where the county steps in: Williamson County staff specify the culvert size, the Lee County precinct commissioner sets the size and length on site, and a Lee County commercial driveway is built by a county-approved contractor, so ask that county which contractors it approves before the drive is priced. In Travis County utility work in the right-of-way takes an engineer-sealed plan, which a Texas professional engineer seals. Only the contractor who walks the lot can price the drive, because the pipe size and the culvert length are set on site.

SourcesWilliamson County, Road and Bridge, and the Williamson County Driveway Policy, read 2026-09-20; Lee County requirements for permits to construct access driveways on county right of way, read 2026-09-20; Travis County TNR Development Services, commercial driveway permit, read 2026-09-20.