City official explains need to fix Barton Springs Road bridge

There is an urgent need to move forward with repairs and expansion of the Barton Springs Road bridge leading into Zilker Park, Eric Bailey, acting deputy director of Capital Delivery Services for the city, told City Council’s Mobility Committee last week.

The bridge was built in 1926 and expanded to four lanes in 1946. Bailey said 20,000 vehicles cross over the bridge every day, offering access to the park but also in and out of the city. He noted that it is important to keep the bridge open during construction and he went over the process that city staff intends to implement in order to widen the bridge to offer two vehicle lanes in each direction, plus lanes for bicycles and pedestrians.

When the bridge is finally rehabilitated, there will be a widened bike lane, wider pedestrian paths and multimodal areas to accommodate off-road hike-and-bike trail users, according to Bailey.

The city wants to make sure that the bridge remains open for the many special events Zilker Park hosts, including the Trail of Lights, Austin City Limits Music Festival and Blues on the Green, he said.

Bailey said the project has been under consideration since at least 2012. One reason for the current urgency is that engineers have confirmed that the reinforcing steel within the concrete of the bridge is showing signs of corrosion. At a minimum, he said, the existing bridge deck and spans between the supports need “to be completely replaced in order to expand the bridge life.” He noted that the city hired AECOM, a “world-class firm,” to help the city look at options.

Doing nothing is not an option, he said. Replacement options included a single-span bridge, but engineers found that it would be the most complex to build, would obstruct views and would cost more than the other options. The city could also construct a two-span bridge, but that would still cost more than the three-span option. In addition, the three-span option would be more visually open and allow clear views of the creek, he said.

He explained that he will be making a presentation to the full Council on Nov. 30. At that time, they will need to set a public hearing, but city staff hopes to move forward with the project design as soon as possible. The city held an in-person meeting about the bridge in April and a virtual open house from March 2 to April 18, with an accompanying survey. They received 187 comments, mostly from the virtual presentation.

Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis, who chairs the committee, said she recalled a pre-bid meeting in 2015. “I know there was a push for expansion. We didn’t want something that was a major highway throughway” but a bridge that is “safe for drivers, bikers, walkers and people using wheelchairs. At the end of the day, we need to make sure the bridge is safe and well maintained and functional for the future,” she said.

One important note is that the plan for reconstructing the bridge closes just one lane at a time so that people will still be able to use the intersection. This is particularly relevant for drivers who access the bridge from Azie Morton Road, which runs alongside the park and serves as an outlet for drivers in the Barton Hills and Kinney neighborhoods.

Bailey explained that funding for design of the new bridge will come from the proceeds of the 2020 bond election. However, he noted that money has not been earmarked for construction.

The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.

Posted In: Roads, District 5