COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Regional transportation planners want to lift or sink pedestrian and bike crossings at some of the busiest intersections next to Texas A&M University in College Station, a plan that could run as high as $200 million and would not break ground before 2030.
The Bryan-College Station Metropolitan Planning Organization walked through the options Wednesday for University Drive and South College Avenue before the transportation committee of the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce. The concepts rely on grade separations, meaning bridges or tunnels that carry people on foot or on bikes over or under traffic instead of across it.
Daniel Rudge, who leads the MPO, said crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians have been climbing along University Drive and that deaths at those crossings are a constant worry. He described the corridor as a chance for Texas A&M, Bryan and College Station to do something transformative together.
Cost varies widely by site. A covered crossing at College Main is the priciest option at about $200 million, while a crossing at Spence Street is the cheapest at roughly $27 million.
Paying for it is the open question. Rudge said the money is not expected to come from the MPO, the local cities or the Texas Department of Transportation, so consultants are now drafting a financing plan as the last phase of the study. He said the agency is looking at alternative funding and that construction on any of the crossings would start in 2030 at the earliest.
People who live, work or study along the corridor can weigh in on Nov. 10, when the MPO holds a 4:30 p.m. open house at the Legends Event Center that lasts two hours.
Section: More College Station TX crime news
Filed under: College Station TX Traffic News