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Bryan District

BRYAN DISTRICTDoing a Big Project in a Small City:

Preparing for the Bush–Wellborn

Interchange

Chad Bohne, TxDOT-Bryan

Tim Lomax, TTI

Bryan District

Project Site Location

2

Bryan District

PROJECT

BACKGROUND

High volume of

pedestrians,

bicyclists, buses,

vehicles, trains

200+ nearby special,

athletic and

university events

Congestion

Many trains

Bryan District

PROJECT

BACKGROUND

Southwest

gateway to

A&M/Bryan/

College Station

Bryan District

PROJECT

BACKGROUND

A&M

63,000 students (2017)

B/CS

215,000 to 350,000 (2040)

GROWTH—

TAMU and

Bryan/College

Station

Bryan District

Downtown

Houston

150,000

workers

7 Freeways

Downtown

Dallas

145,000

workers

6 Freeways

Downtown

Austin

125,000

workers

4 Freeways

75,000students, faculty,

staff

0

Freeways

4TH LARGEST TEXAS DOWNTOWN

MONDAY through FRIDAY

Bryan District

PROJECT

GOALS

Improve

Safety

Bryan District

Reduce

Congestion

PROJECT

GOALS

Bryan District9

Kyle Field 2013

Big game congestion

means BIG worries

for the $485MM

expansion

Bryan District

Congestion

Not Just a

Gameday

Experience

PROJECT

GOALS

1995

42,000 students

140,000 Brazos County

2003

45,000 students

160,000 BrazCty

2017

63,000 students

205,000 Brazos County

Bryan District

43,000 45,000 48,000

A&M Enrollment

Bryan District

Grade Separation Layout

16

Bryan District

CONSTRUCTION CONCEPT

Full closure for some period rather than maintain

traffic on narrow roads for many years

DEVELOPED BY AGREEMENT BETWEEN:

Bryan District

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

Right of way

Construction

Date?

Funding?

We are confident that we can get funding if we have

the right project with public support

TIM LOMAX

t-lomax@tamu.edu

MADISON METSKER-GALARZA

m-metsker-galarza@tti.tamu.edu

Texas A&M Transportation Institute

That Was Then

……..

What’s Different

Now? bwx-bcs.org

Increase safety &

capacity

Widen to 6 lanes

Complete 2021

WHAT’S NEW? FM 2818 Improvement

Kyle Field 2017

• Contraflow & staffing

• Traffic cleared by 2 hours

• Fans appreciate service &

wonder about using same

approach on weekdays

PROJECT

GOALS

Minimize

Construction

Disruption

email:bush-wellborn@tti.tamu.edu

We will analyze your input and

bring back concepts and

schedules in the Fall.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS

• Raise awareness of outreach; get people to Survey; answer questions, dispel myths (well, try anyway)

• >>We will be back with concepts and schedules

• 43 meetings, 1,100 attendees

• On-campus groups

• Councils, Commissioners, Community meetings

• In the MSC hallway, Outside Blue Bell Park

• Placements within other briefings

• Largest ~100 attendees

• 29 had 25 or fewer attendees

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT SURVEY RESULTS

4,100 completed surveys AND 4,000+ comments

• Do Something!

• Too much traffic, need separation from railroad

• Bike and ped safety upgrades

• Down rather than up. (Some confusion about ‘underpass’)

• Rapid construction with short closure time

• We’ll deal with traffic disruption by

• Changing routes, and…

• Crickets……

• Appreciate the chance to provide input.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO THE PROJECT

• Develop depressed and elevated concept

• Wider shared use path; full ‘ped box’ at intersection

• Accommodate a range of ‘futures’; land use will change

• What does rapid mean? Short closure or short project?

• Develop two schedules

• Shortest start to finish

• Least closure time

• Education on key role of travel paths, mode and arrival time

• Sketch-up drawings

• Community meetings, social media, answer questions

CONSTRUCTION CONCEPT

24/7

construction

schedule

Railroad

continues

operation

Close whole

intersection for

6 months

Open Wellborn

through roads

Keep Bush

closed another

3 months

Current (Possible) Idea

WHAT COULD HAPPEN?

MANAGE

Expectations

Travel Options

THE CHALLENGE

Improve

intersection

Maintain

traffic

Maintain

mobility

Minimize

effects

Minimize

extra costs

Re-engage

stakeholders

THANK YOU

bwx-bcs.org CHAD BOHNE

chad.bohne@taxdot.gov

TIM LOMAX

t-lomax@tamu.edu