TxDOT Reinstates Traffic Lane on Broadway at Pearl, Undoing San Antonio's Pedestrian Upgrades

The repeated reshaping of Broadway at Pearl by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) continues, with the agency now tearing up sidewalks it previously approved to reinstate a third lane for vehicles, this move coincides with a larger scheme to enhance mobility along the corridor from Roy Smith to Burr Road, a spokeswoman confirmed the demolition and lane restoration will set TxDOTT back roughly $120,000, although demolition, originally slated for this week, has not started, reported by the San Antonio Report.

The switch-back undoes part of a multi-year, multi-million dollar city effort to make Broadway more pedestrian and bike-friendly—this plan, supported back in 2017 by a majority of local voters, was stamped out by a decision in 2022 by the Texas Transportation Commission with the aim to alleviate traffic congestion in the state, according to the San Antonio Report; the reinstated traffic lane should open by year's end, with the complete $10.5 million project wrapping up next spring.

As TxDOT proceeds, Oxbow Development Group—an affiliate of Silver Ventures which previously poured an estimated $2.7 million into area improvements—faces the additional cost of reconstructing an ADA-accessible pedestrian ramp, a budget increase already in the range of $100,000, as necessitated by the sidewalk's reconstruction, Chris Armstrong, a representative for Credit Human, which owns a property near the project with Oxbow, revealed to the San Antonio Report, addressing the credit union's cooperation with TxDOT to solve the lane restoration issue.

Funds from a 2017 bond aimed to transform Broadway into a bike- and pedestrian-friendly corridor have been left in limbo, with the city spending only a limited amount on design and planning before its initiatives were axed; Nick Olivier, a spokesman for the city confirmed that the majority of the $42 million earmark was invested in street enhancements along Lower Broadway—those works are anticipated for completion by the end of September, he mentioned in comments obtained by the San Antonio Report.