Anyone who regularly travels the Highway 334 bridge connecting Seven Points to Gun Barrel City knows it is ripe for a traffic jam just about anytime of the day. That's because it is the primary route in the Cedar Creek Lake area for traffic generators such as work, shopping, dining and other commuting, according to 2010 study undertaken by the Texas Department of Transportation's Public Transit Division in cooperation with the East Texas Council of Governments. If there were any doubts about the results of the study they were dismissed in September 2010 when a boat hit a bridge pylon, and the decades-old, two-lane road was closed for several days until repairs could be made. Residents and visitors to Cedar Creek Lake were forced to drive miles out of the way to get from Seven Points to Gun Barrel City and vice-verse. Now, city leaders are hoping to head off such future traffic disruptions and relieve congestion on the bridge, which connects to four-lane highways in both cities, by petitioning state leaders for a new, larger bridge. There currently are two, two-lane bridges connecting to a two-lane road over an island in the middle between the two cities on Highway 334. The proposed plan would call for the widening of both bridges and the road in the middle to four lanes. Many people who use the system of bridges daily think of it as one large bridge. It is a dangerous stretch across the lake that has been the site of multiple accidents that resulted in serious injuries and deaths over the years. State Rep. Lance Gooden, who is running unopposed on the November ballot and will be seated on the 83rd Legislature in January for District 4, said he concurs that a new bridge is needed. A formal proposal with specific plans for a wider bridge has not yet been made so it is unclear what form a new bridge might take. "I have been approached by city officials in the lake area about helping to bring a four-lane bridge that will connect Gun Barrel City and Seven Points," said Gooden in an e-mail statement. "This would not only alleviate the headaches we endure when one or both lanes are closed on the current bridge, but safety would be improved and lives could be saved." The construction of a new bridge would be an expensive project that must first be evaluated by the Texas Department of Transportation to for need and suitability for the area. The agency currently has three road improvement projects underway in Henderson County that are expected to cost $12 million when completed. The agency's 2010 public transit report already identifies the bridge as a vital connector in the Cedar Creek Lake area. The report showed that 47 percent of Henderson County's 73,277 population lives in the Cedar Creek Lake area. It identified Seven Points, Gun Barrel City and Mabank as the top attractions for traffic in the area. In three models for possible routes for public transportation in the Cedar Creek Lake area, the Highway 334 bridge was a main route. The report also noted that the population of Henderson County, which was 1,237 when the county was formed in 1850, is expected to exceed 100,000 by 2030. That is less than two decades away. Gooden said that he and Rep. Jim Pitts, who also represents a portion of Henderson County, are committed to working together to ensure that the Cedar Creek Lake area remains a strong economic force. "I will continue to keep residents advised as we make progress on this necessary project," Gooden said.