‘No excuse’ overpass opens

As dignitaries gathered Monday morning for a ribbon cutting ceremoniously marking the opening of the Loop 82 (Aquarena Springs) overpass, the whistle of a Union Pacific freight train sounded — right on schedule to illustrate how badly the project was needed.

Construction on the $20.7 million project started in 2015, and the overpass marks the city’s second. The Wonder World Drive overpass opened in 2010 and has also worked to increase mobility on the south end of town.

Will Conley

But the Loop 82 project will be particularly popular among the Texas State students, staff and faculty and, as University President Dr. Denise Trauth noted, its completion also marks the end of a long-standing tradition.

“Our students can no longer use the train as an excuse to be late for class,” she said, eliciting laughter from the city, county, CAMPO, university and Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) representatives gathered for the ceremony.

“It’s an important project that does have an impact on our entire community,” Trauth said, noting that not long after she took over at the university’s helm, “I signed the letter to TxDOT that we would cooperate” on the project. “It’s wonderful to see it to fruition.”

“Today was just another victory for long-term planning,” Will Conley, chairman of CAMPO, said, noting that it’s an example of a community “setting the right set of priorities” as well as illustrating “collaboration among municipalities, the county, region and state.”

“There’s no project that is done in the state of Texas of any significance that doesn’t have the collaboration of all these different types of jurisdictions and usually a combination of different funding options,” Conley said, calling the overpass an asset for a city, county and region that are all among the nation’s fastest-growing.

Ray Whisenant

Such projects are neither cheap nor easy, he said, but provide important upgrades in safety and mobility. “From an emergency perspective, we have over 30,000 kids and administrators (at Texas State) and God forbid any reason we have to evacuate — I cannot underline enough what this overpass means to local emergency services.”

Hays County Pct. 4 Commissioner Ray Whisenant also spoke, noting the “good partnerships” and “good relationships” that went into the project.

John Thomaides

San Marcos Mayor John Thomaides called the opening “really monumental” for the city. “It’s not often that a single road project has an impact as immediate and significant as the Loop 82 overpass,” something he said that’s obvious to “anyone that’s been stuck at a railroad crossing in rush hour traffic, or any time of day when the train decides to stop for an hour or so, or trying to make an 8 a.m. class.”

He also thanked U.S. Rep Lloyd Doggett for his work in Congress to secure part of the funding, and noted the project also improves the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians.

“It matches the aesthetics of our community,” Thomaides said. “It’s something we can drive on and be proud of, especially when there’s a train crossing our path.”

The overpass opened to traffic in July.

Denise Trauth