Editor’s Note: This article has been updated since original publication to correct errors.
From charter buses getting stuck on railroad tracks to students hitting potholes on the way to class, there’s no shortage of road work planned in College Station.
Road construction in College Station falls under the jurisdiction of the city of College Station and the Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT, with Texas A&M Transportation Services responsible for roads within campus limits. Roads such as Old Wellborn Road, Cain Road and Bizzell Street are currently set to be under construction, while others such as Coke Street are being put on hold.
The intersection at Cain and Wellborn Road railroad crossing will be closed and, currently, a new railroad crossing is being created at Wellborn and Deacon Drive project manager for the city of College Station James Smith said.
“The new Deacon [intersection] will have a turn lane for people to get in and out of the west side of the tracks,” Smith said. “That project will last 18 months.”
In 2022, TxDOT is projected to have nine projects costing approximately $210,558,100, according to TxDOT.com. TxDOT has plans to improve safety along Harvey Mitchell Road, starting at Texas Avenue and leading up to Earl Rudder Freeway, according to TxDOT.com.
“The project would construct raised medians on SH 30 [Harvey Mitchell Parkway] to enhance safety within this section of roadway,” according to TxDOT.com.
Smith said Wellborn, Texas Avenue, University Drive and George Bush Drive are all managed by TxDOT. The city of College Station designed a project at Holleman Drive and Wellborn, which is now managed by TxDOT and is projected to be completed in November, Smith said.
“If you’re familiar with the Holleman intersection, there’s kind of a hazard jump,” Smith said. “We have a project that is coming in the next week or two to raise Wellborn up to the level of the tracks.”
A&M sets a budget of about $1 million a year to fix roads, Clint Willis, a project manager for A&M’s Transportation Services, said. The summer is the preferred time to work on most projects due to smaller enrollment, Willis said.
“We try to take advantage of when move out has happened and when graduation has happened,” Willis said. “We try to take advantage of that two week period in the summer to get impactful projects underway.”
At the corner of Bizzell and Mosher Lane, a new three-way stop and crosswalk will be installed to connect southside dorms and the new Student Recreation Center when it opens, with a projected start date of May 16, Willis said.
The Polo Road and University intersection will see expanded right turn lanes, Willis said, and a new entry exit will be added by Lot 51, just southwest of the Bonfire Memorial.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that an additional right turn lane would be added to the Polo Road-University Drive intersection. The Battalion regrets this error.
“This will help with traffic flow at our 8 [a.m.], 5 [p.m.] and noon busy times,” Willis said.
After evaluating road conditions on campus, Willis said Coke Street is estimated to be $8 million worth of work and will have to wait until after the Aggie Park is completed in order to proceed.
“Knowing that big construction will be happening in those areas, we tend to hold off [on road construction],” Willis said. “If you think about it, if the park was going on and we were reconstructing the roadway, that would cause problems with constructing [Aggie Park].”
Willis said he doesn’t know exactly when the park will be completed, but he was told its estimated completion would be before the first fall 2022 football game.