Commuters traveling along Broadway north of downtown San Antonio can expect delays to continue as the 2017 Lower Broadway bond project enters its next phase of construction Tuesday.
Construction also begins Tuesday on the state’s portion of Broadway from Roy Smith to Austin Highway, according to a news release from the Texas Department of Transportation.
The city announced that signage will point out detour routes for its work along Broadway as two sections of the avenue will be closed for reconstruction until December. Broadway will be closed from 4th Street to McCullough Avenue, and also from 6th Street to Brooklyn Avenue.
Sidewalks will remain open on either sides, the city said in its announcement, adding that the closures are coordinated so that drivers have access to businesses along lower Broadway through its side streets.
The Broadway and McCullough intersection will remain open to eastbound and westbound traffic on McCullough throughout the closure.
The Broadway and E. Jones Avenue intersection remains open to northbound and southbound traffic. While eastbound and westbound traffic on E. Jones remained closed throughout August for overhead and underground work, it is set to reopen.
The updates are part of the $43 million redevelopment project voters approved in the 2017 municipal bond. The entire 2.2-mile project is estimated to be completed by the summer of 2024.
Meanwhile, drivers who travel on Broadway from Roy Smith to Burr Road in San Antonio, will face more construction as the state begins $18 million of improvements on the corridor.
According to TxDOT, work on Segment 1, which is expected to be complete in 2025, will include roadway repairs, upgrades to curbs and sidewalks, the addition of ADA accessibility to intersections and improvements to traffic and pedestrian signals.
“The $45 million investment will address the immediate safety and maintenance needs of the Broadway corridor with improvements to rehabilitate the roadway and deliver operational enhancements that will benefit everyone,” said Gina Gallegos, the district engineer for the San Antonio District, in a news release from TxDOT.
Segment 2, from Burr Road to Austin Highway in Alamo Heights, will undergo the same improvements planned for Segment 1, but also will include accommodations for bicyclists and pedestrians and landscape beautifications, according to TxDOT.
J. Bruce Bugg Jr., chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, which oversees TxDOT, said officials with the state and the City of San Antonio were “unable to come to any agreement on bike and pedestrian lanes and beautification enhancements,” but were “open to work with the city to offer the same terms.”
TxDOT said Segment 2 is still in the planning stages.
