City moving ahead with adjusted scope, schedule for mobility projects funded in 2016

The city expects to move forward with $146 million in construction projects on major vehicle corridors in 2025, with improvements to Burnet Road and Slaughter Lane expected to go to bid as the next steps using funding from the 2016 mobility bond package. Other efforts planned to move forward include bike and pedestrian improvements along key corridors like Airport Boulevard, Burnet Road and North Lamar Boulevard.

A recent meeting of City Council’s Mobility Committee included a comprehensive update on the work completed and the next projects scheduled to move forward, some of which will look considerably different from the plans put before voters because of a variety of budget and infrastructure challenges.

Eric Bailey, deputy director of Capital Delivery Services, said that as the projects moved through planning and design phases, it became evident that the available funding would not be sufficient to address the needs identified during the process. Despite optimism that additional funding could be secured, the program ultimately had to move forward into construction with the resources available.

To date, the city has $255 million from the bond package either spent or allocated toward projects that are under construction or waiting to proceed, with an additional $100 million to $130 million leveraged from grants, private investments and partnerships with local mobility and utility programs.

On Airport Boulevard, several intersections have been completed, with construction continuing on key segments and further improvements planned. North Lamar Boulevard has seen signal improvements, with sidewalk gap filling and new bus lanes in the pipeline.

Burnet Road has ongoing drainage site improvements, while East Riverside Drive has completed signal installations and is progressing with additional enhancements. William Cannon Drive, Slaughter Lane and South Lamar Boulevard also have various completed and upcoming projects aimed at improving mobility and safety.

Bailey cited changes such as the addition of new infrastructure, like sidewalks and bike paths, that increased impervious cover along the corridors, triggering the need for stormwater drainage upgrades. As a result, relatively minor transportation projects initially estimated at $5 million to $10 million expanded, costing between $15 million and $20 million, incorporating significant stormwater improvements alongside transportation enhancements.

Council Member Chito Vela expressed frustration over the drastic reduction in improvements to the roadway of North Lamar Boulevard, caused in large part because of the need to make major improvements over drainage ditches that will require substantial piping and other infrastructure to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Vela said he wants to know how much money initially dedicated toward North Lamar from the 2016 bond will be left over, so Council can plan for enough money to make the needed improvements in the next bond proposal expected to go before voters in 2026.

“How much is left over from the North Lamar corridor project, and how much do we need? I’d really like to see those numbers line up so we can start planning in earnest now that we’ve looked at it and we have a better sense of what it would cost so we can move the project forward,” he said. “North Lamar is one of the most dangerous streets in the city and there’s lots of deaths and there’s lots of injuries and it’s a very difficult street in general to interact with.”

Council Member Paige Ellis said drainage issues as a whole are becoming a more pressing matter throughout the city, with the next bond package likely needing to include more pre-planning to take drainage needs into consideration alongside major road projects.

“Those issues have become more and more severe over the years, so I wanted to flag this as something I think would be a great conversation as our next bond is developed, is to look at what types of flooding are happening and impacting certain neighborhoods,” she said.

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