Bastrop, Tx–A downtown alley which is also a busy traffic artery got a major facelift this week for the first time in decades. Alley A, as the block-long route is known, handles an average of 7,000 vehicles a day between Loop 150 or Chestnut St. and Spring St. between Main Street and the Colorado River.
The makeover involved taking off the top few inches of asphalt, smoothing the underlying surface and a new asphalt topping. The underlying road base turned out to be in surprisingly sound condition, acting public works director Jim Rebecek said today.
The new surface treatment and the upcoming new striping to mark parking spaces and other traffic information is also a prelude to an upcoming experiment on traffic management in Alley A. On Tuesday the Bastrop City Council, with some trepedation, reaffirmed a prior decision to make the route a one-way artery beginning Feb. 1. The new rules will direct traffic south from Spring St. to Chestnut and disallow drivers heading north between Chestnut and Spring in the heart of downtown.
The new routing will be an experiment to see if it eases the movement of traffic into, through and out of the downtown area, according to city officials. The traffic law, as presently drafted, will expire after 60 days to insure a review of results by the city council.
During Tuesday’s council meeting, members agreed on a mechanism to abort the new traffic regulations even earlier if unexpected problems surface. City Manager Mike Talbot suggested it may take drivers some time to grasp the new traffic patterns and learn to adjust their behavior to get where they are going in an expeditious manner.
Rebecek said the Texas Department of Transportation, which controls Loop 150/Chestnut St., has agreed to extend the time during which the traffic signal at Chestnut St. and Main provides a protected left turn for drivers headed east on Loop 150 who want to turn north on Main St., thus easing traffic heading into town across the Colorado River.
Traffic is routinely most congested at the intersection, including the connection with Alley A, in the hour or so in the afternoon when school pupils are freed for the day, said Rebecek.