Residents, business owners relieved construction on lower Broadway is complete

SAN ANTONIO – Many San Antonians are breathing a sigh of relief now that the nearly yearlong construction project on lower Broadway is complete, with the area reopening this week.

“It’s amazing that it’s finally finished,” said Rick Gonzales, a local resident.

Lower Broadway has been under construction since January, starting from Roy Smith Street near the Highway 281 and I-37 interchange, heading downtown toward Travis and East Houston streets. It now features new bike racks, trash cans, and other pedestrian-friendly amenities.

“That’s one thing I look for when I move some places, like living in the city. I’m a walk person. I’m always walking the River Walk, and it’s only a mile downtown,” said Mara Eck, a resident.

Improvements extend beyond the roadwork, with new crosswalks, landscaping, wider sidewalks, enhanced lighting, and limestone benches at intersections like Jones and Broadway.

Gonzales and Eck, who walk to the dog park in Maverick Park daily, said the construction has been challenging, and they are glad it’s finally done.

“It’s been blocking up traffic. Businesses haven’t been able to open. Parking was terrible. There were a lot of things happening here, but it had to be done,” Gonzales said.

“Having to maneuver around all the construction site vehicles and things like that hasn’t been fun,” Eck added.

Businesses in the area are also benefiting from the project’s completion.

“We are able to connect with the neighbors all around us,” said Audrey Osborne, manager of Nola Brunch & Beignets.

Osborne said parking restrictions and closures on parts of Broadway had been a nuisance since they opened six months ago. Now, she said they are seeing more customers and believe the area has a bright future as an extension of the Pearl’s success as a corridor toward downtown.

“We already get folks from the Pearl because they have that little restaurant and eatery over there and shops and whatnot. And we have the Make Ready (market) down that way and little shops there, so people visit around there and then come and join us. So, it’s really cool that it’s just a bigger extension of that,” Osborne said.