Georgetown Transportation Analyst Nat Waggoner presented City Council with an Austin Avenue bridges project midterm review during Tuesday’s City Council workshop meeting.

The project is evaluating the historic bridge structures, which were originally built in 1939-40, to determine if the city will move forward with replacing or repairing the bridges that span the North and South San Gabriel rivers.

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.

The forensic testing indicated the bridges are structurally sufficient, and steel testing determined the bridges’ steel is strong and recommended load-bearing limits that had been placed by the Texas Department of Transportation in 2014 could be raised, he said.

Waggoner said the city has sent those recommendations to TxDOT and is expected to have guidance on how to address the load-bearing limits by the end of the year.

Public interest and extra funding

Since the project began about nine months ago the city has hosted two public input meetings with more than 150 participants and 19 public and private stakeholder meetings, Waggoner said. There are also 12 consulting parties registered through TxDOT.

A third public meeting to discuss possible alternatives for the bridges had been expected to be held this fall; however, Waggoner said that has been pushed back to the spring because of additional environmental analysis needed and increased public participation.

Waggoner said additional funding may also be needed to complete the bridges project because of “enhanced public involvement and heightened environmental analysis.”

“We are about halfway through the scope [of the project] and 75 percent through the schedule,” he told the council, adding that about $280,000 was needed to finish the study.

Funding for the additional work could come from existing street planning funds.

The council could consider the additional funding at its Oct. 25 meeting.

Options to be evaluated

On Oct. 5 the Georgetown Neighborhood Alliance, a group of downtown residents and business owners, met to discuss its position on the project.

Len Denton, a representative of the alliance, said the group is advocating the city remove replacing the bridges as an option for consideration.

“The best option is a repair-and-maintenance strategy,” Denton said, adding that replacing the bridges could lead to a closure of Austin Avenue for 18-36 months. “If that is the case, that could result in a potentially devastating impact on the downtown retail district.”

Waggoner said the city is expected to present all of the proposed options for the structures during the third public meeting, which is expected to be held in March.

“There is a fair amount of angst,” Council Member Steve Fought said. “If the alternative picked closes bridges it would have a significant impact on downtown businesses.”

Waggoner said the city would present information, including estimated costs and construction timelines for each possible alternative at the meeting.

“That concern is evident and tangible in meeting with the public, and rightly so. We are working very hard to develop the estimates for construction duration and looking at all of the different tools we have in order to be able to mitigate all of the impacts temporary closure may have,” he said. “We will make every effort to make sure one lane in each direction is open at all times.”

Waggoner said there are currently 12 alternatives that include realigning the bridge through San Gabriel Park, adding one-way bridges on either side of the existing bridge structures, replacing the bridges as they are now, replacing and widening the bridges, and replacing the bridges with a separate pedestrian bridge.

Waggoner said the city is required to review all possible alternatives as part of the environmental review process.