AUSTIN — AUSTIN -- Next to the hustle and bustle of downtown, the Hike and Bike Trail can be an oasis.
"My wife and I try to walk,” said Michael Mosier. “Four days a week.”
He visits it so often after a serious hospital stay.
"I was in a coma in 2016,” he said. “So I'm just trying to get back into shape even after that.”
Walkers and runners alike welcome the change to the once-narrow trail under Congress Avenue.
"They actually did this really quick,” said daily trail user Heidi Frishon. “So it was kind of a surprise."
The new trail bridge under Congress Avenue was finished in less than three months. The bridge is on the north shore, near Cesar Chavez.
The Trail Foundation is the nonprofit that oversees the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake. Heidi Anderson, the Foundation’s executive director, said the “mini boardwalk” is concrete and steel, 14 feet wide and has a bat observation deck.
The bridge is just the start of additions to the trail. For the Foundation’s 15th anniversary, it is adding 15 new projects. The majority of them are east of I-35.
"We're really going to focus on some trailheads on the southeast quadrant,” said Anderson. “Putting in a restroom and some water access points down there: Pleasant Valley and Lakeshore."
The Foundation is also going to work on the Fiesta Gardens and Holly Shores area. They will replace bathrooms, add more plants, realign the trail closer to the water and add more access points for kayaks. It will also add a playground in the area.
“I think it'd be great,” said Mosier, who starts his walk from the east side. "People kind of ignore it."
Therefore, improvements are appreciated by trail enthusiasts.
"I love these new bridges,” Mosier said.
Because the Trail Foundation is a nonprofit, the projects are privately funded by donors who want to see improvements to the trail.