As of this week, heavy vehicles traveling eastbound across the Barton Springs Road Bridge will be required to stay in the far right lane in an effort to extend the life of the bridge.
The decision to limit options for heavier traffic, including buses, was made after the most recent inspection of the bridge, which deemed its overall condition “satisfactory.” The city’s bridge consultant, AECOM Engineering, has determined that routing traffic will mitigate deterioration until it is replaced.
According to a memo from Austin Transportation and Public Works Department interim Director Richard Mendoza, “AECOM recommends implementing this change as a pre-emptive measure to extend the life of the bridge and delay or avoid more significant measures like load posting (i.e., limiting the weight of vehicles crossing the bridge). No changes are planned for the westbound direction under the current lane configuration.”
In the meantime, the city is “engaging an engineering consulting firm to develop a work plan to reinforce the arch ribs in hopes of removing the requirement for eastbound heavy vehicles to use the right lane.” That work plan is expected by the end of this month.
A plan to rehabilitate or replace the bridge, which was built in 1925, is currently underway. Right now, that project is in its preliminary design phase and scheduled to appear before City Council’s Mobility Committee in October before moving on to City Council.
According to a timeline posted by the city, the design phase of the project will continue through 2025. Construction is expected to start that year and continue for three or more years. Though funding through the design phase is covered by the 2020 mobility bond, money for the anticipated $30 million to $40 million in construction costs has not yet been identified and is expected to be funded with future bonds.
Photo by Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0.
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Transportation and Public Works Department
Zilker Park: Austin's largest downtown park, Zilker Park is comprised of 350 acres donated by Andrew Jackson Zilker in 1917. It contains the Zilker Botanical Gardens, Umlauf Sculpture Garden and adjoins Barton Springs Pool.
