City of College Station takes next steps on separated bicycle lane project

Credit: KBTX News 3 at Six

KBTX
By Tyler Hoskins
Published: Mar. 21, 2023 at 5:17 PM CST

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - Earlier this month, College Station took the next steps on its separated bicycle lane project.

On March 9, College Station City Council awarded a $235,000 design contract for the project. The project will create a physical barrier that separates bicycles from the roadway on George Bush Drive from Texas Avenue to Wellborn Road. According to officials, the goal is to make it safer for cyclists on the road.

The city was also provided a $1 million grant from TXDOT through a Transportation Alternative Programs fund, which covers 80% of the cost, Susan Monnat, senior project manager for the City of College Station, said.

“It’s a great benefit to the city and the residents to be able to really utilize 80%, with an 80-20 split we’re spending 20% and then we’re reaping the benefit of the whole portion,” Monnat said.

Monnat said the project is important with the number of cyclists who travel the roadways.

“I believe that is a good portion of the reason we were awarded this grant, our proximity to [Texas A&M] university and the amount of bicycle traffic in the area,” Monnat said.

The city will communicate with College Station ISD as the project continues to move forward, Monnat said.

“It’s part of our standard procedure to keep everyone in the loop,” Monnat said. “It’s a little simpler process than maybe some of our construction where we’re tearing everything up and building new, but we will have to have lane closures.”

Construction on the project is not expected to begin until 2024 and it will be managed by the state, Monnat said.