Updates to Old Iron Bridge project in Bastrop sparked by the tricolored bat
Project details for the rehabilitation of the Old Iron Bridge in Bastrop were updated Aug. 26 after officials discussed the presence of the tricolored bat in the area.
The details: The contract amendment for design services with Austin-based Huitt-Zollars, at a cost of $59,600, came after three project issues were recently identified:
The need for a tricolored bat survey
A requirement from the Texas Historical Commission to use modern lighting fixtures instead of matching “old-style” light fixtures located throughout downtown Bastrop
The importance of evaluating the Old Iron Bridge for needed structural modifications to accommodate the new lighting system
The tricolored bat survey was called for after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Texas Historical Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality told city officials that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services planned to list the animal as an endangered species.
Bastrop plans 'monumental' street reconstruction downtown
Bastrop is nearing reconstruction for portions of Linden, Farm and Water streets as part of a “pipe bursting” project.
What we know: The project has gone out for bids, and city officials will continue to procure them through the end of September. A contract is expected to be awarded in October, City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino said during a Bastrop City Council meeting Aug. 26.
Carrillo-Trevino previously noted that design is approximately 60% complete.
“There are some water lines and wastewater lines along Hwy. 71 that need to get repaired,” she said. “We are [working] with the contractor to move them to the other side of Water [Street] and to some of those other streets that need infrastructure repair. We're going to do that via pipe bursting.”
Local restaurants to fight food insecurity during Austin Restaurant Weeks
Dozens of Austin restaurants are teaming up from Aug. 29 to Sept. 14 to help combat food insecurity.
What's happening? Austin Restaurant Weeks is a two-week dining event featuring specially priced meals and cocktails at a variety of participating eateries.
A portion of the proceeds from each meal will be donated to the Central Texas Food Bank.
How it works: Pricing options include a $25 lunch and brunch package, a $50 dinner package and a $75 dinner package. The resulting donations are $4, $7 and $10, respectively.
Gov. Abbott signs new congressional map; Texas Democrats vow to fight in court
Gov. Greg Abbott signed Texas’ new congressional map into law Aug. 29, declaring in a video posted to social media that “Texas is now more red in the United States Congress.”
The details: Under Texas’ current congressional boundaries, Republicans hold 25 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats. State lawmakers have said the new map will help them gain up to five more during the 2026 midterm elections.
Texas Democrats have called the mid-decade redistricting effort unconstitutional and "racially discriminatory," while Republicans asserted that the map "complies with the law" and was designed to help more Republicans get elected to the U.S. House.
Next steps: Texas’ new congressional map is set to take effect in early December, although it will be discussed in court two months earlier. After state senators approved the map Aug. 23, the League of United Latin American Citizens and a group of Texas residents filed a lawsuit asking that the map be found unconstitutional.
A panel of three federal judges will hear arguments in the case Oct. 1-10 in El Paso.
