By Troy Rother, City Traffic Engineer
As much as we all love Aggie football, there’s one thing we dread when football season arrives – the increased traffic around Kyle Field.
In the early 1990s, the city worked closely with Texas A&M to develop a plan to move traffic in and out of the area after football games. The plan has worked well, but the rapid growth of the city and the university – not to mention all the new visitors from the Southeastern Conference – means it must be updated.
After last season’s Alabama game, we collaborated with the university to collect postgame traffic data all over the region to develop better methods of moving traffic. We also partnered with the Texas A&M University System and other local agencies, such as the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, to find ways to not only move traffic more efficiently after games, but to also assist fans arriving in town before games.
A better traffic plan
The result was a more cohesive traffic management plan, regardless of whether the roads are operated by A&M, the Texas Department of Transportation, or the City of College Station.
One of the most noticeable changes will be the contraflow lanes on Wellborn Road. This technique used by other cities to quickly get motorists away from major stadiums to nearby freeway systems. Wellborn Road will be temporarily converted to four southbound lanes from George Bush Drive to Southwest Parkway, where it will change to three southbound lanes, then to FM 2818, where it will return to the normal two lanes.
The additional southbound capacity will better accommodate the traffic from George Bush Drive, Kyle Field, and the Westside Parking Garage.
Destination Aggieland App
The plan also included the development of a free app called Destination Aggieland that has real-time information on traffic, parking, shuttle routes, Kyle Field and what to do on game day. It even provides a countdown to the next Aggie football game. You can download the app from your favorite app store or at gameday.12thman.com.
Thanks to Texas A&M Transportation Services, here are some maps and other information that we hope will move you around town as quickly as possible this season:
- Football Parking Map
- Real-Time Traffic Map
- Free shuttles from the mall (Get to the Grid!)
- Northgate Parking Garage
- RV Parking at Tarrow Park
- More information
Gig ’em!
