If your commute seemed a little lighter this morning, you've got a new bridge to thank.
After three-and-a-half years of construction—and almost a decade of planning—a new bridge for cyclists and pedestrians is finally complete. The bridge runs alongside South MoPac and crosses Loop 360, with a 1,045-foot stretch across the Barton Creek gorge. There's a lane dividing northbound and southbound traffic and, at some points, beautiful views of the greenbelt below.
The bridge doesn't just impact cyclists and pedestrians, though. Part of the nearly $20 million project adds an additional highway line on the southbound MoPac, narrowing the highway's shoulder in the hopes that cyclists will now use the new bridge instead.
The 14-foot-wide path is part of a network of new paths (dubbed the MoPac mobility bridges) that was funded by both the City of Austin and the Texas Department of Transportation.
Austinites are already taking full advantage of the bridge:
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