AUSTIN -- State Representatives Lance Gooden and Jim Pitts told visiting constituents from Cedar Creek Lake the construction of a new, wider bridge between Seven Points and Gun Barrel City would be a priority for them in the 83rd Texas Legislative Session. Gooden, of District 4, and Pitts, of District 10, made the promise during a luncheon address to 40 residents who rode a bus chartered by the Cedar Creek Lake Area Chamber of Commerce to Austin for meetings with Texas officials on Feb. 5. Participants in the one-day trip led by Chamber of Commerce President Jo Ann Hanstrom paid $75 each to make the trip, which included lunch at the Doubletree Hotel near the Capitol. The legislators, who share representation of the Cedar Creek Lake area, said they were aware of Cedar Creek Lake residents' concerns about traffic snarls on the current bridge and agreed it was time for a new one to be built. Gooden and Pitts said they would soon be discussing the project with Department of Transportation officials, but they could not yet provide an estimated completion date for a new bridge. "It could happen fairly quickly," said Gooden when he was pressed for a time frame. Gooden noted that the only business near the bridge, Cedar Isle Restaurant and Baja Beach Club, burned just before Christmas so there would be no impact on existing businesses from widening the bridge. Another restaurant, originally serving Chinese food, located on the same stretch has been closed for years. Area residents have said that widening of the bridge has been discussed with public officials for at least a decade, and nothing has ever come of it. The visiting group from Cedar Creek Lake also met with Sen. Robert Nichols of District 3 who outlined the top issues facing legislators this session. He said the House of Representatives and the Senate would be wrestling with the issues of education, transportation and water needs. Nichols gave the group a history lesson saying that research has shown that 100 years ago the State Legislature was focusing on the same three issues. "Those are still the three big things," Nichols said. The senator said everyone knows what the state needs in regard to the three priorities, but the battle will be over how to allocate resources across the state. He noted that poorer school districts need more money, the state's roads are in need of renovation and the drought has created a scarcity of water across the state. Legislators must plan for the future because massive population growth in Texas over the coming decades is a certainty, Nichols said. The day-long trip by the group included sitting in on sessions of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Resolutions were passed by the legislative bodies recognizing the group's visit to the Capitol. Sen. Bob Deuell of District 2 who represents part of the Cedar Creek Lake area with Nichols also visited with the group. Pictured below are Pitts and Gooden, and Chamber of Commerce President Jo Ann Hanstrom and Gooden.