“We've had a significant enough cost increase that we needed to take a step back and kind of explore where we're at and what the options are moving forward with this project,” Assistant City Manager Nick Woolery said at the meeting.
What happened
The estimated cost of the project jumped from $14.6 million to $23.4 million during the final stages of design, Woolery said. Design firm Freese and Nichols attributed the increase to an error in calculating the quantity of steel needed.
Because of the error, the design firm restructured the internal team working on the project, offered a partial refund of design fees and came up with three alternative bridge design options, Woolery said.
“We want to do everything we can to make it right with the city,” Freese and Nichols CEO Brian Coltharp said at the meeting.
The options
After considering three alternative bridge designs—as well as options to modify the vehicular bridges to accommodate pedestrians—council members selected a new pedestrian bridge design.
Council members favored a durable concrete bridge due to its lower maintenance and cost compared to the original steel option. It includes the original project requirements of a 12-foot pedestrian pathway, lighting and San Gabriel River overlooks as well as connections to the San Gabriel Trail and Blue Hole Park.
“Basically it will look almost exactly like the steel bridge, except the beams below the deck would be concrete instead of steel,” John New, Freese and Nichols vice president, said at the meeting.
The estimated construction cost for this option is $14.7 million. Georgetown has a remaining budget of about $17.8 million, with $16.3 million available for construction, Woolery said.
Freese and Nichols will finalize design details, incorporating council member direction, and bring back plans to City Council.
Also of note
The city plans to implement temporary barriers and lane narrowing on the vehicular bridges to allow for safe pedestrian crossing before the new pedestrian bridges are complete, Woolery said.
The background
The original Austin Avenue vehicular bridges were constructed in 1940. When Georgetown assumed ownership of the bridges from the Texas Department of Transportation in 2007, the city began discussion on rehabilitating the bridges.
During the analysis of the bridges, the city determined the need for separate pedestrian bridges, Woolery said.
In early 2024, three original bridge options were presented to the council, along with cost estimates. Council members chose to move forward with bridge option No. 2, estimated to cost about $12.7 million at the time.
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Design for the vehicular bridges was completed in 2022, and construction began in October 2024. The bridge is slated for completion by spring 2026.
