The long-awaited expansion of the bridge connecting Seven Points and Gun Barrel City could be shelved again, according to Texas Department of Transportation district engineer Randy Hopmann. TXDOT officials promised Cedar Creek Lake officials last year the expansion of the Highway 334 bridge would be a priority, and it could be a reality within five years. The plan would be to either widen the existing bridge to five lanes or to build two new bridges that would rise 12 feet above the water at full pool. Now, the plan is at best to build one new bridge that would rise 12 feet above the water going westbound and use the existing bridge that rises seven feet above the water for eastbound traffic, Hopmann told the Cedar Creek Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Jan. 9. If the new bridge is built it will be north of the existing bridge, and more land will be needed on the island for the project, Hopmann said. No residences will be affected, he said. One of the difficulties with the old bridge is that it is still in such good shape and not eligible for federal funding to be replaced, he said. The worst case scenario would be that nothing would be built or expanded because the TXDOT executive director who promised the bridge expansion is leaving the agency. The project could again be shelved as it was in 1999 because of funding issues after the first time TXDOT officials made plans for the project. Hopmann said local county and city officials needed to again lobby their legislators and TSCDOT officials for the bridge improvements to keep them on track. Resolutions of support need to be adopted by the local governments, he said. "I need to show the leadership that the county and cities are supportive of moving this project forward," Hopmann said. He promised to continue working to promote the project. The shelved plan was revitalized last year after the two legislators representing Cedar Creek Lake, Lance Gooden and Jim Pitts, raised the issue with TXDOT officials. The state completed another engineering and environmental impact study last summer because so much time passed since the last one in 1999. Hopmann told the chamber members that the stumbling block is again money. In 1999, the expansion of the current bridge to five lanes (two lanes going east and west each with a center lane) was estimated to cost $24 million. Today, the cost of the same project would be $41 million. Hopmann said building one additional bridge would cost $26 million, making it the most feasible plan at this time. "It's not ideal," Hopmann said. "But it's an option, and that might be our best option to get this going." Hopmann said that the funding problem is arising from a decrease in gasoline tax revenues that funds road improvements. People are driving less and buying less gas, and gas prices are down he said. Chamber members noted that the existing bridge with an elevation of seven feet above water would still block large water craft from going under the bridges, which was the purpose of the planned 12-foot elevation of a new bridge. Hopmann said if the priority is to allow space for large water craft to travel under the bridge, Cedar Creek Lake leaders need to let legislators and TXDOT officials know that.