The “never-ending” pedestrian bridge project at the famous Horseshoe Loop along the Guadalupe River and FM 306 is 91% complete and the pathway should open in time for the peak summer tubing season.
The bridge will make it safer for crowds to navigate the narrow, high-traffic area.
The iconic loop is a roughly two-mile, U-shaped stretch of the Guadalupe River that’s popular with tubers.
Pct. 4 County Commissioner Jen Crownover said the contractor responsible for the project is still waiting on handrails that “supposedly” will arrive next week.
After they are installed, concrete barriers will be removed so the contractor can finish the job with fresh pavement and striping.
She guesstimates the process could be completed in eight weeks or less.
But the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) isn’t making any promises.
“The contractor is already paying major damages on the project, because of how far behind schedule they are, and TxDOT is holding them to it,” she said in a social media post.
The bridge area abuts the Whitewater Ampitheater and created nightmares by bottlenecking traffic in one of Canyon Lake’s busiest areas.
“I’m sure our partners at the Water Oriented Recreation District of Comal County (WORD), their stakeholders and our river visitors will be relieved, too. And certainly our residents, whose patience has really been tested by the slow progress.”
The project is designed to fit with future expansion along FM 306.
According to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the $400,000 project was scheduled to kick off in April 2024 with an estimated completion date of May 13, 2025.