The closure will mean traffic will use Loop 337 and Common Street to reach its appropriate destination. Crews will shut down the road after 8 p.m. each night and reopen the road in time for the morning commute.
Traffic to nearby facilities – such as the Coleman plant – will still be able to reach its destination. Through traffic on FM 306 will be halted before reaching Goodwin Lane.
The opening of Goodwin Lane onto FM 306 will move a few hundred feet east of its original location, following what will be the north half of a permanent two-way access road and turnaround at the intersection. The turnaround will be finished and put into use when the full bridge is finished next year.
Once the beams are set, crews will begin working on the bridge surface itself, setting deck panels and forming barriers. Traffic will begin use of the bridge early 2014, once the eastbound side is complete. That will likely mark the first bypass of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks along the project; separating vehicle traffic from the railroad was a primary factor in determining the scope of this project.
The $32 million effort began in March and was slated to finish late 2015. To date the contractor, Hunter Industries, of San Marcos, has completed about 30 percent of the work.