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| Bridge to the Future Wednesday, March 03, 2010 Edwin Newton
A new bridge that will relieve traffic congestion along Springtown’s main corridor could be up and running by early summer.
Springtown City Administrator Mark Krey says the 32 foot wide, 90 foot long bridge could be put in place later this week – the main step in a three month long process.
And the bridge will be strong enough to meet the demand. In fact, the bridge’s “load rating” is “well above” the weight needed to accomodate an 18 wheel tractor trailer truck, Krey said. However, he pointed out that the roads leading up to the bridge are not and will not be designated as commercial delivery routes. Krey said that although the bridge seems to be going up quickly, the project itself has been in the planning stages for some time now – almost from the day he moved he moved to City Hall from the police department in 2007.
Over the next couple of years, hydrological studies were completed and prospective locations for the bridges’ location were explored. On May 28, 2009, the council voted to fund the project with about $700,000 worth of obligation bond money. City councilman Tom Clayton started dreaming of a bridge at or near the current location four years ago. Seeing the bridge work actually take place is something he wasn’t always sure would happen. “It (project) could have been killed a dozen times,” he said. “But a majority of the council agreed that it needed to go in to help relieve some of the traffic congestion on 51 (FM) through town. The best part is that this fight is over and all folks will have another way to get across Walnut Creek going north and south through Springtown.” Krey said the new bridge will be an asset in many ways. “It will certainly assist in diverting traffic from Main St. for those who live on the east side of town,” he said. “It will also provide all of our emergency services with another means of traveling north and south in town so they will be able to respond in an efficient and effective manner.” The new bridge will also help “define Spring Branch Trail as a collector street in our overall transportation system,” he said. “While we do not have a master thoroughfare plan per se, we do have some basic understanding as to how we want traffic flow to develop in town,” Krey said. “The bridge is one part of that understanding.” Building the bridge is only part of the project. To make things work, the city is having to build a new road – an extension of Lake Drive – to link up with the new bridge. The southern portion of the new road will be an intersection of Lake and Hilltop. It will continue north with two 90 degree turns to cross the bridge “and then another dog-leg on the north side of the creek,” Krey said. The bridge’s north “terminus” as Krey calls it will be an intersection with Walnut Creek about 100 feet west of the intersection of Walnut Creek Drive and North Spring Branch Trail. |
