Officials lining up land for bridge

Loop 82 project now slated to start no later than January 2015.

The bridge construction for Loop 82 on Aquarena Springs Drive is now slated to start between August 2014 and January 2015, once officials line up the land needed for the project.

San Marcos officials are working with Texas Department of Transportation to begin planning the construction process, said project engineer Rey Garcia. The project will be awarded to a contractor in May, and if the land acquisition is completed by early summer, the project could break ground in August, Garcia said.

“That’s going to be the earliest that we can start, and the window is if the acquisition process takes longer, then it could take up to early next year,” Garcia said.

During construction, traffic will be limited to one lane in each direction except during major events at Texas State University, when four lanes of traffic could be open, said Juan Guerra, the university’s associate vice president of facilities. Those events include move-in weekend and commencement ceremonies.

“We certainly don’t want one lane of traffic in each direction during any kind of major event on campus, so we will be working closely with TxDOT and their contractor once the contract is awarded,” Guerra said.

City Council members approved a funding agreement between the city and TxDOT, as well as utility relocation costs during their Feb. 28 meeting, Garcia said. The agreement says 90 percent of funding will come from TxDOT and 10 percent will be funded by the city.

“They’ve estimated that the land acquisition for the entire project will be around $4.3 million, and what that means is the city is responsible for 10 percent of that cost,” Garcia said.

The city will be responsible for funding an estimated $480,000 that will be used for utility relocation costs.

Council members approved funds for utility relocation, design and environmental costs.