City continues bridge discussions

“Public meeting No. 3 will be about the alternatives that are available for consideration by the council, and what the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are for each,” Waggoner said. “We are working very closely with [the Texas Department of Transportation] in the environmental review process, and we will be able to bring to the public what is feasible, get their input and then take that to the council.”

Waggoner said the public meeting is expected to be held this fall.

Options in the alternatives analysis could range from doing nothing to full replacement of the structures, he said.

“We are going to bring the alternatives that are being considered and frame them in a way that gives a uniform perspective to all the alternatives to get that apples-to-apples [comparison] as best we can,” he said, adding that the alternatives analysis would also include cost analysis as well as the estimated lifespans for each alternative.

The Austin Avenue bridge project started in January after the city commissioned a forensic assessment of the bridges as well as two independent reviews of that assessment, both of which Waggoner said recommended something be done to repair the bridges.

Waggoner said other safety concerns, including potholes and concrete crumbling on sidewalks and underneath the bridges as well as pedestrian safety, need to be addressed in the project.

The city hosted its second public meeting for the project June 29 that asked members of the public to consider those concerns as well as connectivity, the bridge’s aesthetics and character, Waggoner said.

A report about the meeting has been posted on the city’s website.

Downtown business owners and residents also hosted a meeting Aug. 2 to discuss concerns with the project. Kitty Henderson, executive director of the Historic Bridge Foundation, presented information at the meeting.

“I think if a community embraces their historic bridges like they do their churches and other buildings, you will find that you will have people coming here,” she said. “It really will be a place that people that are interested in heritage tourism are going to come and see.”

Henderson and Waggoner said there are other ways for business and property owners to get involved with the project, including applying to TxDOT to be a consulting party.

“People who have a demonstrated interest in a project may apply to be a consulting party,” Henderson said. “For those recognized, it takes them out of the general public and makes them a specific player in the study.”

Several residents and business owners said they were concerned with the possibility of replacing the bridges.

“I don’t think we are getting to the heart of the matter of discussing the financial impact of the bridges and the impact to the community if [the city] chose to replace the bridges,” said Rusty Winkstern, owner of The Monument Café and El Monumento.

Waggoner said after the city’s third public meeting, the city will share comments and information gathered with TxDOT to include it in the alternatives analysis that will be presented in a series of workshops and meetings with the Georgetown Transportation Advisory Board and City Council later this year.

City Council will then select its preferred alternative, which will be presented at a fourth public meeting that could be held late this year or early next year, Waggoner said.

More information on the project, including all engineering reports and information from public meetings, can be found online at http://austinave.georgetown.org.