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The Drag Is Getting Its Bus Lanes Repaved (Again)

Martin do Nascimento
/
KUT

Anyone who has driven or taken a bus down Guadalupe Street near UT-Austin knows how bumpy the ride can be.

Though the Drag was repaved just a few years ago, its bus lanes are already marred with potholes. Now, the city has begun making repairs to those lanes.

The work area stretches along Guadalupe Street between MLK Boulevard and 29th Street. So if you take that road to work, you'll encounter some traffic disruptions and delays over the next several weeks. Alexandria Bruton with Austin’s Public Works Department says crews will be initially be working during overnight hours, though, to avoid serious congestion.

Credit Public Works Department

“The crews are doing the work at night in order to cause the least amount of impact to traffic. From about 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., drivers can expect Guadalupe north- and southbound to be down to one lane in each direction," she said, "and there will be police officers, signage and detours."

It should be noted, the Public Works Department has scheduled some repairs during daytime hours. Repairs to Guadalupe from the Triangle to Koenig Lane will begin this month and repairs from 29th to Lamar will begin next month. Repairs to Guadalupe from Second Street to 18th Street have been completed.

Bruton says road conditions deteriorated quicker than expected because of the subpar material used during construction. It couldn’t hold up under the pressure of hundreds of buses traveling on the road daily. She says the new pavement material should make for a smoother and more durable driving surface. Repairs are expected to be complete in August. You can follow along with the progress online.

Syeda Hasan is a senior editor at KUT. Got a tip? Email her at shasan@kut.org. Follow her on Twitter @syedareports.
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