It appeared late Tuesday that Galveston County voters would overwhelmingly approve a $165 million bond package to pay for road upgrades, improved drainage, facility renovations and new buildings.

The package had three propositions: $75 million for road projects, $45 million for facilities and $15 million for flood control.

With half of the Galveston County’s votes counted late Tuesday night, 58 percent of voters approved the road projects, 56 percent approved the facilities projects and 69 percent approved the flood projects, according to incomplete and unofficial results.

Recognizing the difficulty in approving a tax increase in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, County Judge Jim Yarbrough thanked voters for supporting the bonds. Road projects are the key to the economic development, Yarbrough said. He said the construction of new offices for the health district and 4Cs clinic would help accommodate the county’s indigent, uninsured and underinsured residents who may not be served if The University of Texas Medical Branch is forced to scale back its operations because of Ike.

“We appreciate the voter’s confidence,” Yarbrough said. “We will put their money to good use and get these projects done on time and within budget.”

To pay for the projects, the county tax rate will likely jump by 4.5 cents per $100 of assessed value, meaning the owner of property assessed at $100,000 will pay at least $45 more in taxes per year. The debt will be repaid over 20 years.

Among the projects the bonds will fund are:

• Widening Stewart Road in Galveston to three lanes with bike lanes and widening 61st Street from Gulf Freeway to Boss Bingo;

• Building a bypass for the perpetually crowded FM 518 to ease traffic congestion from FM 270 to FM 2094, along with another $11 million on other road projects throughout League City;

• Replacing the pavement on Cedar Drive, from state Highway 3 to Vauthier in La Marque, with concrete and improving drainage;

• Clearing and de-snagging Dickinson Bayou and alleviating flooding in the bayou’s watershed;

• Alleviating longtime flooding problems along Clear Creek;

• Buying the old Wal-Mart building on the Emmett F. Lowry Expressway in Texas City and converting it into offices for the county health district, 4Cs clinic and Central Appraisal District; and

• Building a new animal shelter at Jack Brooks Park in Hitchcock and agriculture extension building at Carbide Park in La Marque and converting part of old county jail in Galveston's East End into a records storage facility.

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Kurt Koopmann