Meeting set to discuss Riverside overpass project

By Matthew Jackson

The Texas Department of Transportation and the City of Riverside have announced a public meeting set for June 30 from 6-8 p.m. at Riverside Baptist Church to discuss the possible construction of a new overpass at the intersection of state Highway 19 and Farm-to-Market road 980 in Riverside.

The meeting comes as public outrage continues to build over the announcement of the overpass project, which many residents of Riverside have voiced a strong objection to.

According to David Stephens, TxDOT’s area engineer, the project began several months ago as TxDOT personnel across the state began submitting projects to the agency’s 2009 Safety Bond Program.

“We submit candidates based on a variety of factors: accident data, roadway features, whether a highway has shoulders or not, what the terrain is,” Stephens said. “Based on those factors, we compare that to what it would cost to do an improvement and the ratio is calculated based on that. The project then competes with other projects submitted from around the state, and the projects with the highest ratings get approved. The overpass in Riverside was one of several projects submitted and it was selected. So, once we get the news that it’s been selected, we go out and draw up some rudimentary schematics. So we’ve been doing that for just a few months.”

The project was just one of dozens of Safety Bond projects approved by TxDOT in February 2009. The overpass is budgeted at just over $9 million, a small fraction of the $600 million budgeted for Safety Bond projects statewide.

According to Stephens, the primary concern when the project was submitted was to reduce the number of accidents at the intersection of state Highway 19 and FM 980, an intersection that has undergone accident prevention measures in the past.

“A few years ago we did a signal project there and installed a traffic signal, and that’s helped a great deal with the accidents, but we still continue to have some accidents in that area, and that’s our main focus is trying to reduce accidents,” Stephen said.

But many living in Riverside are concerned that the overpass project will adversely impact the area’s economy.

According to Joan Harvey, Riverside City Secretary, the city was not even aware of the project until a residen was told of it by a TxDOT surveying crew.

“TxDOT came up and they were measuring the city of Riverside, and nobody knew what they were measuring,” Harvey said. “One of our citizens asked them what they were doing, and they said they were measuring for an overpass. They’ve never asked the city about it. We never saw any drawings or anything else. And if they do that they’re cutting out about three businesses that we need the sales tax from.”

There are several business in close proximity to the intersection of state Highway 19 and FM 980 in Riverside that would no longer have direct access from state Highway19 if the overpass were constructed. However, Stephens noted, the businesses would still be accessible through frontage roads that would be constructed to accompany the overpass.

“We plan on constructing frontage roads that will maintain the access that those businesses have currently,” Stephens said. “I think what they’re concerned about is people that will use the overpass but will not drive directly in front of those business. When we’re finished, if you so choose, you can drive right over 980, but you can also take frontage roads to get to those businesses.”

After Riverside city officials discovered the project, they contacted Stephens, who cited studies done for the Safety Bond Program as the reason the overpass was being constructed.

Since then, citizens and city officials have attempted to access those studies through a Public of Information Act Request to TxDOT’s Austin headquarters. A recent letter from the Associate General Counsel for TxDOT denied the request pending a ruling by the Texas Attorney General’s Office. The letter cited legal exemptions to the Public Information Act regarding interagency or intraagency memorandums and letters, as well as exemptions for agency information that cannot be released should it be used for litigation.

According to Stephens, the denial of the request is possibly due to the studies being classified as an interagency memo, as they served as part of a Safety Bond Program application for the overpass project.

According to Bob Colwell, TxDOT’s area public information officer, the information in the studies will not be discussed at the public meeting unless the Attorney General’s office rules to release it before the man.

Public meetings are required by law for all major TxDOT projects to gain public input before construction begins, but as public opposition builds to the overpass projects, it appears the public meeting in Riverside will be about more than just receiving input.

“We’ve got a petition going with at least 350 signatures on it,” Harvey said. “But they’re not all in Riverside. They’re from all over Walker County.”

The meeting is also set to be attended by state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst and Walker County Judge Danny Pierce.

According to both Colwell and Stephens, a “no build” option is still a possibility for the project if enough public opposition is seen, though neither could speculate on how much opposition would be enough to stop the overpass.

“What we’ll do is we’ll roll out some plans that show our tentative ideas on what the project will look like,” Stephen said. “The interested businesses and other people in the community will be able to see what we’ve got planned, and they can see what kind of accesses they have, what the frontage roads will look like, and it just gives them an opportunity to provide input on that.”

“One thing we would like to emphasis is there still is a no build option,” Colwell said, “and we look forward to everyone's comments next Tuesday.”

Meanwhile, Riverside officials and business owners are still gathering signatures for their “Stop the Overpass” petition, which can be signed at Riverside City Hall and several businesses throughout the city.

For more information on the overpass projects, visit www.stoptheoverpass.com or contact Riverside City Hall at (936) 594-2520.