The big picture
The city has been seeking to rehabilitate or replace the historic bridge spanning Barton Creek for years, and Austin voters approved some project funding through the $460 million 2020 mobility bond. While the bridge is in stable condition for now, recent inspections pointed to some future safety concerns as the aging structure is overdue for improvements, Transportation Director Richard Mendoza said.
“For public works directors around the country, old bridges are one of the things that we lose sleep about—especially when they get to this current state," Mendoza told City Council in April. "If I deemed it was unsafe, I would close it. I would not try to Band-Aid it or anything like that; it’s not unsafe. However, it has exceeded its lifespan."
Transportation and Public Works spokesperson Brad Cesak said the deteriorating bridge would need various repairs within the next few years if it's not replaced, which could extend its life for about a decade. The new bridge now being considered, once open, would last for at least 75 years, Mendoza said
Council authorized negotiations over that funding, awarded under the Department of Transportation's 2024 Bridge Investment Program, on April 24.
The details
The new bridge would feature a widened roadway for vehicle traffic, alongside separated crossings and new roadway connections for pedestrians and cyclists—features that are currently more limited on the 1920s-era bridge that was last expanded in the 1940s.
While council already approved an expanded bridge plan, Cesak said the new funding gap could lead the city to "significantly revise the design to meet project needs, constraints and concerns that arise."
The project's ongoing design phase will run into next year followed by demolition and reconstruction starting in early 2027. There will also be additional opportunities for the public to weigh in on the project and bridge design as development continues.
Also of note
Barton Springs Road remains a busy east-west corridor, and the city had planned to keep portions of the bridge open to traffic throughout development. However, Mendoza also suggested the project timeline could be sped up if the road and bridge are fully shut down during construction.
“In my ideal world, the day after [Austin City Limits Music Festival] closes, I close the street, I have the bridge ready and reopened before the start of the next ACL," Mendoza told council. "That’s very aggressive, it can be done, I’m exploring that now.”
It remains to be seen if the city moves forward with a full closure, Cesak said. Different possibilities are still under consideration to limit impacts on local mobility and special events while other larger projects—like the MoPac South and I-35 expansions—are underway.
"The potential redesign would impact the design timeline, traffic control plan and potentially reduce construction time. The decision to accelerate the project is still being vetted," he said.
What they're saying
Some community members have pushed back against the replacement, saying that the city should've sought to maintain the current structure given its place in the historic Zilker Park area and environmental concerns related to Barton Creek. Council members voted unanimously to secure the federal funding and move ahead with replacement this spring, after some consideration of the need for the project.
“This one is not an easy one because we all want to preserve the bridge, but I ultimately think just from a safety perspective we can’t take on that risk," said council member Ryan Alter, whose District 5 includes some of the bridge.
"This is a really important thing for us to address, and I’m very worried it’s going to get to a point where it’s not safe and it can’t be crossed, and that buses and any other vehicles that are heavier that need to get through are not able to be there," she said. "I think that’s a really, quite frankly, irresponsible place for a municipality to put ourselves in.”
