According to the Statesman, “the boardwalk trail over and along Lady Bird Lake might cost at least $3.3 million more than estimates released for the 2010 City of Austin bond election that authorized the project. The city received eight bids for the work, all far exceeding the expected cost.” Despite the significant projected cost overrun, the City remains committed to finding the funds to complete the popular downtown project.
The Hike and Bike Trail that runs alongside Ladybird Lake in downtown Austin is one of the City’s most-valued recreational areas. 3,000 – 15,000 people use the trails each day to run, walk, bike, or relax. Unfortunately, the trail loop is incomplete: a 1.1 mile gap on the south shore on either side of I-35 is a problematic hole in a much-loved 10-mile loop. Ttrail users who venture East of Congress Avenue on the south shore “must divert onto the narrow sidewalk and travel along busy Riverside Drive, crossing 35 busy business entrances and other points of conflict and crossing 6 lanes of I-35 access roads to travel east or west and use the south side of the Trail.”
Last year, the City passed $14.4 million in bonds to build a boardwalk in the lake to close the entire 1.1 mile gap. The bonds were contingent on a contribution of $3 million in private funds to be raised by the Trail Foundation. This week, the Trail foundation announced good news: they have quickly raised $2.4 million of the $3 million goal and are increasing the target to $5 million to fund additional trail improvements.
Renderings of the New Boardwalk
According to the article, Howard Lazarus, director of the city’s Public Works Department, said there are numerous options for coming up with the extra money — unspent bonds authorized in past elections, bonds that might be OK’d this November, short-term borrowing, even private donations — and that the project is not threatened. He said he anticipates settling on a source, or sources, for the extra money later this week, and that the city staff probably will make a contractor recommendation to the City Council by late March or early April. That would allow the project to begin construction by late May.”
