Here's what's happening with Broadway construction
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The Broadway corridor between downtown and Alamo Heights is finally undergoing improvements more than seven years after voters approved funding such a project, but it won't look the way city officials planned.
Why it matters: The street has seen a slew of changes in recent years as the surrounding area, near Pearl and Brackenridge Park, experiences new development. It's an essential connector between downtown and neighborhoods.
Catch up quick: San Antonio voters in 2017 approved bond funding for improvements to Broadway, which is lined with businesses, museums and parks.
- Officials planned to reduce it by one lane in each direction, add bike lanes and widen sidewalks, aiming to make the street more pedestrian-friendly and encourage alternative modes of transportation.
- But the Texas Transportation Commission halted those plans when it reclaimed ownership of Broadway in January 2022, preventing the city from taking it.
- The planned lane reductions were reportedly central to the state's decision to take control of the project because such a change would conflict with Gov. Greg Abbott's directive to reduce traffic congestion.
Zoom in: Now, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is performing upgrades that maintain Broadway with three lanes in each direction. The project includes:
- Mill and overlay work
- Restriping
- Upgraded ADA accessibility at intersections
- Sidewalk and curb repairs
- Surface drainage improvements
- Upgraded traffic and pedestrian signals
- And new signs.
By the numbers: All told, the work is expected to cost $10.5 million in TxDOT Maintenance Funds for the roughly 2.5-mile stretch.
The latest: The city still has $7.3 million in 2017 bond funding for the upper Broadway project, Public Works Department spokesperson Nick Olivier tells Axios.
- He said there are no plans to reallocate it as of Wednesday.
What's next: Construction on Broadway up to Burr Road is scheduled to be finished by the spring.
- Work on Broadway from Burr Road to Austin Highway, in the city of Alamo Heights, is yet to be scheduled.
Meanwhile: The city recently finished improvements to a downtown stretch of lower Broadway it owns, after a long four years for business owners.