SAN ANTONIO — The City of San Antonio has spent the past few months revising its plans to redevelop a stretch of Broadway from Interstate 35 to Burr Rd. currently controlled by TxDOT.
In January, the Texas Transportation Commission stated it controls the segment of road and that it never handed it off to the city, as it appeared to back in 2014.
In June city leaders say they presented a revised plan to the commission to reduce lanes without causing congestion, which was TxDOT’s primary concern.
“We’re hopeful that they can see we can have this same project by making those improvements to intersections. We’ve improved capacity, we’ve improved congestion, we still get the wider sidewalks and the bike lanes the voters approved,” Assistant City Manager Roderick Sanchez told KENS 5.
The city plans to reduce the road from six lanes to four lanes, add bike lanes, wider sidewalks and a median raised. Traffic signals would be synchronized and left turn lanes would be added at certain intersections.
The city says they used TxDOT’s traffic study to revise its current plans. Sanchez says since the redevelopment plan for these phases was still in the works, they were able to adjust.
“We’re thankful they pointed the [issues] out and we’re able to address them. Now we have a better plan, this is definitely a win-win. The voters get what they wanted…and we’ve improved congestion and capacity,” Sanchez added.
It’s not clear at what point TxDOT could make a decision. TxDOT issued a statement to KENS 5 this afternoon saying in part "it has received the City's proposal and while we do not agree with the findings to reduce the lanes from six lanes to four lanes, we believe this creates an opportunity for additional conversations."
“TxDOT remains committed to making improvements to Broadway, without reducing motor vehicle lanes, and working collaboratively with the City of San Antonio to add visual enhancements along Broadway such as burial of utility lines, better sidewalks, and landscaping in a manner consistent with the agreement between TxDOT and the City of Alamo Heights. TxDOT can also work with the City of San Antonio to seek federal funds and develop enhanced bicycle lanes along parallel corridors on City of San Antonio roads,” said Texas Transportation Commission Chairman J. Bruce Bugg Jr.
The total redevelopment of the Broadway corridor cost $144 million, including $42 million that was approved by voters in 2017.