By Luke Lattanzi | Staff Writer
Road-widening construction aimed at providing more pedestrian infrastructure continues to affect a stretch of apartment complexes along South University Parks Drive that are predominantly inhabited by Baylor students.
The construction, which will continue through the summer, is part of a wider project managed by the City of Waco and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). It has impacted the entrances of The Domain, Ursa, The Outpost and Oso Verde, popular apartment complexes among students.
“It is a widening project that’s being done by TxDOT, not by the city,” Jim Reed, streets division manager at City of Waco Public Works, said. “The only thing that the city has an investment in is we are doing some pedestrian infrastructure that we believe will make it a more walkable corridor. That goes basically from U.S. Business 77, just past [The Domain, Ursa, The Outpost and Oso Verde apartment complexes].”
The project is part of the 2023-2026 Transportation Improvement Plan.
The plan states that South University Parks Drive will be widened from two to four lanes to add more pedestrian infrastructure to “address a high number of total and severe crashes and provide safe bicycle and pedestrian facilities along the corridor.”
Pedestrian infrastructure will include sidewalk connections, crosswalks, pedestrian ramps and additional street lighting.
“It’s been a gap that’s been in play for many years, and we finally found a way to partner as a city with TxDOT as they were doing this widening project,” Reed said.
TxDOT spokesperson Jake Smith said via email that construction workers will begin laying pavement on the road in early spring.
“Crews are working on the pavement-widening on the south side of [University Parks Drive],” Smith said. “Paving will start in early spring and continue through the summer. The Primrose Creek bridge is currently reduced to a single lane as crews construct the first half of the new bridge. This will open to two lanes this summer, and the remaining half of the new bridge will be constructed. Additionally, reconstruction of the signals at La Salle is scheduled to start this spring. Overall, the project completion date is scheduled by the end of this year, field conditions permitting.”
