SAN ANTONIO — *NOTE: This article has been updated to include a response from VIA Metropolitan Transit
Demolition of a popular west side pedestrian bridge is now underway.
Nearly one year ago, a dump truck hit the bridge, causing a collapse so loud, neighbors said it sounded like a bomb.
KENS 5 is getting answers as to why the city took so long to start the demolition process.
Nick Olivier, Public Relations and Marketing Manager for the City of San Antonio Public Works Department, said the city had to work with the truck's insurance company in order to get the funding to demolish the bridge.
Within the last year, it wasn't just pedestrians who used the bridge who were affected, it was also regular riders of VIA Transit.
When the rubble from the Pedro Romero Pedestrian Bridge was hauled away, so was the VIA bus stop.
Francisco Reyes, who previously hopped on the bus off Dahlgreen and Castroville Road, is now forced to catch the bus elsewhere.
"From one Friday to the next, [the bus stop] was gone," said Reyes. "I'm walking about two or three blocks up the road just so I can catch the bus again."
Reyes is one of countless pedestrians who walk or bike along Castroville Road.
Many used the pedestrian bridge every weekday to get safely to Dahlgreen Avenue, where Gardendale Pre-K 4 SA Early Learning Program and the Madonna Center, Inc. are located.
The Madonna Center provides recreational activities and social services to families and seniors in the area. People of all ages would use the Pedro Romero Pedestrian bridge to get there.
February 21, 2023, city contractors who were working on Castroville Road, failed to lower an open-box bed on a dump truck. The raised bed hit the bridge, knocking it down.
In the weeks that followed, a temporary crosswalk was put in place which is still there today.
Roger Caballero, Executive Director of the Madonna Center Inc., believes a traffic light will be safest because some drivers don't acknowledge the temporary crosswalk.
"It's supposed to be 35, but it's usually 45-50. People just fly by," Caballero explained. "I've heard they're considering putting a regular stoplight, so I'm hopeful that it will actually happen because it has been an issue for us navigating the street."
Olivier says a new 4-way traffic signal will replace the temporary crosswalk at Castroville and Dahlgreen, just east of where the pedestrian bridge was located.
"That intersection previously had no traffic signal," wrote Olivier in an e-mail to KENS 5. "This new signal will include 4-way pedestrian crossing signals. This will eventually replace the temporary, signalized pedestrian crossing that was installed when the bridge was hit."
Part of the insurance payout will be used to hire crossing guards during peak pedestrian hours, said an official with Councilwoman Terri Castillo's office.
City officials with Public Works say the demolition of the bridge should be completed within 30 days.
KENS 5 reached out to VIA Metropolitan Transit to ask if and when the bus stop will be replaced at Dahlgreen and Castroville Road. They said, "The stop and its corresponding stop, at Dahlgreen Avenue, have been closed in coordination with the city work to demolish the bridge ramps. It is our understanding that a new intersection with traffic signals and a pedestrian crossing will be installed by the city of San Antonio. VIA will work in coordination to incorporate the pair of stops within that new infrastructure, and the pair will be reopened when construction is complete and safe to do so. In the meantime, VIA passengers may use the stops before and after this location near Romero Street and Barney Avenue."
By next week, the city hopes to have all lanes reopened on Castroville Road.
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