City to host open house for Austin Avenue bridges options

The City of Georgetown will host the third public meeting for the Austin Avenue Bridges Project on May 11. The open house meeting on Thursday, May 11, will be from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Georgetown Communications and Technology Building, 501 W. Ninth St.

During the meeting, the project team will present possible improvement alternatives for the bridges that span the north and south forks of the San Gabriel River just north of the downtown Square, provide updates on the environmental compliance process and collect feedback from the public.

The goal of the project is to identify a long-term plan for the Austin Avenue bridges by evaluating possible alternatives to address structural, community, and mobility needs, ultimately developing a preferred alternative for the bridges that were constructed in 1939.

This study evaluated a number of alternatives and balanced considerations such as historical significance, cost, impacts to property owners and businesses, access, including connections to San Gabriel Park, and input received from the public. Twelve preliminary alternatives have been screened and will be shared along with the five that are moving forward as primary alternatives.

After the meeting, additional analysis on the alternatives will be completed to narrow down options to a preferred alternative that will be presented at a fourth public meeting expected in late 2017 or early 2018.

All project materials and public meeting materials will be available online after the meeting at on the Transportation website.