More than six years after voters approved it as part of the 2017 bond, a much-debated project to restore the Lambert Beach and pump house area at the northern edge of Brackenridge Park could soon be underway.

The Texas Historical Commission on Tuesday voted to approve permits related to the Brackenridge Park Bond Project to remove 48 trees and relocate 19 others.

Opponents of a bond project to fix up Brackenridge Park hope a state commission could force the city to change course.

After a meeting Thursday with the heads of the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Transportation Commission, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in an emailed statement “We learned today that TxDOT’s priority is not improving traffic flow and mitigating congestion, it’s all about six lanes of asphalt, regardless of capacity.”

City officials have been caught off guard by the state's imminent move to halt the transfer of a 2.2-mile stretch of Broadway Avenue, which would also halt their plans for its redesign.