Austin, TX
Residents living below W. William Cannon bridge frustrated over ongoing stabilization project
Residents living below W. William Cannon bridge frustrated over ongoing stabilization project
Crews are currently working on stabilizing the W. William Cannon Bridge, but direct neighbors are pretty fed up with the cement grout and dust blowing into yards. FOX 7 Austin’s Carissa Lehmkuhl has more in this 7 on Your Side.
AUSTIN, Texas – Residents living below the West William Cannon Bridge in South Austin are voicing frustrations about the recent ongoing stabilization project.
Wiley, a South Austin resident, took FOX 7 on a walking tour of a few backyards sitting in the shadows of the bridge.
“You can see the soil grout all over this yard right here,” he said. “It kills the grass is what it does.”
In August 2022, the City observed cracks and potholes forming in the bridge road due to movement underneath the asphalt.
A temporary fix was made before stabilization work began this year.
Work is occurring between Cannonleague Drive and the Union Pacific railroad tracks. Crews will install more than 500 soil nails into the bridge’s retaining walls before adding a new layer of concrete to stabilize the sediment beneath the roadway, according to the City.
However, direct neighbors of the bridge are pretty fed up with the cement grout and dust blowing into yards.
“Living under these conditions is not very comfortable,” said Beatrice, another resident who has lived in her home long enough to watch the bridge first being built.
It’s not just the impact to yards. They are concerned about the toxicity of the cement.
“It’s floated through the neighborhood and if you read up on cement grout it’s pretty toxic,” said Wiley.
“There is an acrid smell of chemicals lingering in the backyard that is irritating to the eyes and nose,” said another resident via email. “My wife is particularly sensitive to this sort of thing and has experienced some irritation inside the house even without going back there.”
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In May, the City began stabilizing the retaining walls using emergency funds from its operation budget.
“Prior to construction, residents near the bridge were notified of upcoming construction by door hangers. The door hanger included an invitation to a virtual meet the contractor meeting on May 4. Presentation materials and meeting recordings were made available online for those who were unable to attend. Residents were given the contact information of the construction inspector and project manager so that they could reach out with individual concerns or questions. The inspector continues to speak with residents one-on-one in person when questions arise or via text,” said a City spokesperson in a statement shared with FOX 7.
“Additionally, a project website was created so residents could learn more about the project and submit questions to the project team. A stakeholder list of nearby residents was created, and they were emailed notifications about upcoming construction and ways to ask questions.”
However, residents said more proactive measures should have been taken.
“They should’ve put a barrier all the way across to protect the neighborhood rather than pollute it with toxic chemicals,” said Wiley.
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According to the City, residents who feel the City has caused damage to their property or person can file a claim by sending a letter within 45 days from the date of the incident with the following information: date, time, location, description of what occurred, type of damage(s) or nature of injury, copies of invoices, receipts, and/or estimates, any additional documents supporting the claim (i.e., photos, diagrams, statements, police reports, etc.) and a full mailing address and daytime telephone number.
The information can be mailed, faxed or emailed to:
City of Austin Law Department
Attn: Claims
P.O. Box 1546
Austin, Texas 78767-1546
Phone: 512-974-2268
Fax: 512-974-1311
lawclaims@austintexas.gov
Filing a claim is something at least some of the residents plan to do. Wiley shared estimates with FOX 7 for his yard and his neighbors’ yards for thousands of dollars’ worth of work including replacing grass and cleaning windows – damage they claim is a direct result of the ongoing bridge work.
“It’s a mess,” he said.
According to the City, the bridge repairs are considered an “urgent safety project.”
“The safety of our community is a top priority for the City of Austin. All City of Austin work is done in compliance with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regulations, and all projects are regulated under Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.
Before construction begins on any project, the team works to identify all unique site conditions that may require additional safety measures. Once work is underway, our teams will adapt to meet the needs of the project site.
For the West William Cannon Bridge project, our contractor used an industrial work tarp to add another physical barrier between the work and the residential properties. Additionally, once construction is completed a 6-foot privacy fence will be installed to address residents’ concerns.
The project team is working with a focus on minimizing construction impacts to residents and businesses. All project work is being completed within City easements.”
Construction is expected to last through November 2023.
Have a story idea or problem you need help with? Email 7OYS@fox.com.
NEW YORK (AP) — Mikal Bridges is being traded by the Brooklyn Nets to the New York Knicks, where he will join Jalen Brunson and his other former Villanova teammates, two people with knowledge of the details said Tuesday.
The first trade between the New York rivals since 1983 will put Bridges in the lineup alongside Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, players who helped the Wildcats win two NCAA championships and were the core of a Knicks lineup that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.
The Knicks will pay big to get him, with ESPN reporting that they are sending Bojan Bogdanovic to the Nets along with four unprotected first-round picks and one protected pick. The deal was confirmed to The Associated Press under condition of anonymity because it is not yet official.
The Nets acquired Bridges from Phoenix in the deal for Kevin Durant in February 2023 and he went on to average 26.1 points the rest of that season in helping Brooklyn reach the playoffs. The swingman scored 19.6 per game in 2023-24 but the Nets slipped to 32-50 and missed the postseason.
And while his team was struggling, he couldn’t help but notice how much fun his friends were having just a few miles away. The Knicks signed Brunson in the summer of 2022, traded for Hart in the 2022-23 season and then signed DiVincenzo last summer, and reached the second round in both seasons.
The four players helped Villanova win the 2016 NCAA title, and Brunson, Bridges and DiVincenzo were still there when the Wildcats won again in 2018.
They clearly can’t wait to get the band back together.
“This is crazy lol,” Bridges wrote on the social media platform X after the deal was reported.
Hart posted a picture of what appeared to be the four players smiling during a group video call.
The teams hadn’t made a deal since 1983, when the Nets were still in New Jersey and sent Len Elmore to New York for a future draft pick. This one gives Brooklyn more picks to build through the draft or package in further trades.
The Knicks had picks to move and have been looking to strengthen a team that has been on the rise. They were a game away from their first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals since 2000 last season despite losing a number of key players to injuries before and during the postseason.
Their new addition, on the other hand, doesn’t get hurt.
Bridges was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and is currently the NBA’s most durable player, which should quickly make him a favorite of Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. He has played in all 474 games in his career — and never missed a game in college, either — and led the league in minutes played in both 2021-22 and 2022-23.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that Brunson signed with the Knicks in the summer of 2022, not the Nets.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Austin, TX
‘It’s really helpful’: Central Texas workforce programs receive thousands in state funding
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Central Texas nonprofits just got more money to help their efforts increasing our workforce.
Twenty workforce skills training and job placement programs received more than $6.3 million in grant funding, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday.
The funding came via the Texas Talent Connection grant program, an initiative designed to aid “innovative education and workforce skills training programs that lead to successful job placement, increased wages, and improved job retention,” per the release.
Two of those programs are in the Austin area: American YouthWorks and Skillpoint Alliance.
‘Reach out to rural communities’
Skillpoint Alliance received $210,000 from the grant program.
Chief Executive Officer Kevin Brackmeyer said it will help them reach out to rural communities throughout all of the areas they serve.
“We’ve seen a lot of individuals who are coming to our training come from outside of these rural communities. We felt that it was urgent that we start really reaching out to those communities and really helping them get trained.”
Kevin Brackmeyer, Skillpoint Alliance Chief Executive Officer
Brackmeyer said they are setting up pop-up trainings in those rural places. He said the grant will also help expand the times they can train.
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Skillpoint Alliance said their programs are free and they last four to six weeks. (Photo: KXAN) -
Skillpoint Alliance said their programs are free and they last four to six weeks. (Photo: KXAN)
“Adding more training sites at night as well as during the day with a focus on specific populations,” Brackmeyer said “One being the veterans that we love to serve.”
Skillpoint Alliance Electrical Instructor Matthew Singer is a veteran himself.
“It’s hard to reach veterans,” Singer said. “Often, large populations are in Killeen and San Antonio. So we try to go to them and provide them an opportunity to transfer from the military into a trade.”
‘Serve more young people’
American YouthWorks is another Austin nonprofit receiving the Texas Talent Connection Grant Program.
“Typically, students are spending half their time in our academic programs, finishing their GED or high school diploma and half of their time in the pre-apprenticeship job training programs,” said YouthBuild Program Director David Clauss.
Clauss said their $350,000 will go towards YouthBuild, a program for young adults who haven’t finished high school.
“Our YouthBuild programs job training is focused around the Austin economy,” Class said. “We provide job training in healthcare, IT, manufacturing and construction in the skilled trades.”
With this additional support, Clauss said they’re able to support over 120 to 150 young people.
The nonprofit said 80% of YouthBuild grads go on to higher education or a job in the Austin economy.
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American YouthWorks said they work with young adults that are 17 to 24-years-old. (Photo: KXAN) -
YouthBuild participant Eloy Vasquez is planning for that in his future.
“I actually want to like join trade school after this. A lot of the skills that I’ve learned here will definitely translate into what careers I’m trying to pursue.”
Eloy Vasquez, YouthBuild participant
Collectively, more than $50 million in grants have been awarded through the state’s grant program since 2015.
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