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Bryan residents and city officials continue dispute with TxDOT over Texas Avenue medians
Summary
A resident criticized the look and safety of medians on Texas Avenue and urged the city to press TxDOT for changes; city officials said TxDOT required medians as a condition for funding and that some project elements remain unfinished.
A steady stream of public comment and council remarks at the March 27 meeting focused on medians and landscaping installed on Texas Avenue — a state-managed corridor — and the relationship between the City of Bryan and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
Jack Robbins of Embers Loop told the council he found the medians and current business corridor appearance uninviting and pressed the city to act. "If I were traveling through Bryan for the first time, I'd probably just keep on driving until I got to College Station," Robbins said. He read a draft response he said the mayor had prepared for the media and urged elected leaders to push TxDOT to remove medians or complete the promised elements of the project.
City officials responded that TxDOT had provided an opportunity to use roughly $40 million in construction funds to widen and beautify the corridor but that TxDOT conditioned the project on medians being included. Staff said TxDOT also requested phasing that installed medians first so the safety funds would not be lost, leaving sidewalks, shared-use paths, widening and landscaping to be completed in subsequent phases once right-of-way acquisition and additional funding are secured. City staff told the council land acquisition for shared-use paths and u-turns ("loons") remains ongoing.
Mayor Bobby Gutierrez told the meeting that the city and council members requested the beautification to make Texas Avenue more like comparable corridors; he said some council members had opposed the medians during design but that funding constraints limited options. A city survey focused on FM 1179 users in November showed about 67% favor widening without medians, staff said, but TxDOT funding and design standards constrained what could be achieved within the available grant and construction allocation.
No formal action was taken by the council on Texas Avenue medians at the meeting. City leaders said they will continue discussions with TxDOT and seek solutions that balance safety funding, right-of-way needs and local preferences.
Why it matters: Texas Avenue is a major state-managed corridor through Bryan; decisions about medians, u-turn access and pedestrian/bicycle facilities affect safety, access for first responders, local businesses and corridor aesthetics. Residents and council members repeatedly requested clearer commitments on whether medians will remain and how remaining project elements will be completed.
