New Bike Bridge on MoPac

It's a first of its kind in Texas: a hanging bicycle bridge, planned for a busy stretch of MoPac in Southwest Austin, where cyclists have to fight for room to ride.

The hanging bridge is planned for a section of MoPac, just south of Capital of Texas Highway. Right now cyclists looking to cross the greenbelt there must ride on MoPac, just feet away from traffic. There's practically no other way around.

"I've actually been pulled over by a police officer" on that stretch of road, says cyclist Steve Guzman, who's been riding for 18 years. "He didn't want to scrape me up off the pavement. I could see his point."

There is no shoulder on the northbound side, and it's a tight squeeze going south.

"I've seen 60 [cyclists] trying to jam into one small space, entering the bridge, and we'll easily overflow into the traffic lane," says Guzman.

But that won't happen after the construction of a 12-foot wide bridge, "similar to maybe the First Street bridge over [Ladybird Lake], how it's a little bit lower than the main lanes, with the idea that it will be supported from the main bridge," says Annick Beaudet with the City of Austin.

A hanging bridge may cut MoPac congestion by spiking the number of bicycle commuters.

"It's going to give a lot of people the opportunity to commute right into Downtown Austin, because this is a great way to get there," says Sara Krause, who chairs the city's task force on bike safety. "If you had a safe route, you could do it."

"I think it's going to be a welcome addition," says Guzman.

The bridge is now in the design phase and will cost $3.5 million, most of that coming from public funding, such as bonds. Friday morning some local businesses will make contributions toward the rest of the cost. The bridge is expected to go up in 2011.

The city of Austin is working on another project to benefit cyclists. This year, the city will add bicycle lanes on Barton Springs Road, from Robert E. Lee to MoPac.