Bee Cave City Council votes to hire engineering firm to design Great Divide Drive bridge crossing

Bee Cave City Council voted unanimously Sept 14 to hire HDR Engineering Inc. to complete the design of a bridge crossing at Great Divide Drive and Little Barton Creek.

In its proposal submitted to Bee Cave City staff, HDR Engineering estimates much of the next year will be taken designing the project with actual construction to start in November 2022 after a bidding process. Construction would be complete at the end of Q1 2023, according to an estimate included in the proposal.

Design of the bridge is expected to include public input via open house discussions. Before the vote, the council briefly discussed the need for multiple ways for the public to learn about the project.

Mayor Kara King said, when ready, staff with HDR Engineering should schedule both evening and afternoon public meetings. Council Member Courtney Hohl also suggested that an informational display be set up for Bee Cave residents to visit on their own schedule.

Design of the bridge will be based on initial work done by Saxon Loomis Consulting Group, which calls for a bridge crossing that can handle water flow rates in Little Barton Creek generated by what is termed a 10-year storm.

City Manager Clint Garza said once a contract is signed with HDR Engineering, HDR staff would probably begin work by double-checking engineering models set up by Saxon Loomis that were first used to study a bridge design.

“Once we get that done, and you all make a policy decision on what you want it to exactly look like, then they will go back and begin the hard engineering," Garza said.

The city of Bee Cave’s direct involvement with the low-water crossing began in June 2019 with the entering of an interlocal agreement between the city and Travis County.