Dellana Lane is a road in Austin, Texas with a unique interesting history that has been forgotten over time. Many Austinites have been curious about this short and narrow 2 lane road that starts at Rollingwood Drive and ends at FM 2244. This news article will explain the unique interesting history of Dellana Lane Rollingwood, Texas.
Dellana Lane was named after Italian immigrant Condido Dellana who owned serval acres of land in Rollingwood and Austin. Condido Dellana immigrated from Italy in 1880 and bought 1,800 acres of land in 1904 where Dellana Lane is today. Condido Dellana worked as a stone mason on the State Capitol building until its completion in 1888.
In 1946, brothers A.B Hatley and George B. Hatley bought 300 acres from the Dellana Ranch for $300 an acre. Almost all street names in Rollingwood are named after members of the Hatley family and their friends. (Ref: Rollingwood Women’s Club)
Dellana Lane was established in Austin, Texas during 1940 as a small 1 lane road near the city limits of Rollingwood, Texas. Eanes Creek flows directly under Dellana Lane and is located inside of a 100 year floodplain.
Dellana Lane started at Rollingwood Drive, which was then serving as FM 2244 prior to 1980, and ended where FM 2244 is aligned today. Dellana Lane was always a narrow 2 lane road and was never a 3 lane road.
Dellana Lane started appearing on maps in 1940, but was not a named road or was never referred to as “Dellana Lane” and “Dellana Ln”. Dellana Lane was a part of FM 2244.
(Ref: Austin 1940 General Highway Map)
By 1952, Dellana Lane served as “Bee Caves Road” which was an auxiliary route for FM 2244. In 1967, Dellana Road served as “Old Bee Caves Road” which it was named as. The name for Old Bee Caves Road was changed to Dellana Road in 1978.
On October 14, 1982, Austin City Council held a public hearing on closing Dellana Lane. Mayor McClellan opened the public hearing set for 2:30 PM on closing certain streets as part of the Capital Improvements Program. Many residents of Austin and Rollingwood want to keep Dellana Lane open.
Attorney C.W. Pearcy was representing several property owners on Dellana Lane at the time.
Attorney C.W. Pearcy said his clients want a solution and not litigation. He feels closing Dellana Lane is not necessary. Civil engineer Mr. Harvey Treybig said closing the road would cause an extreme traffic hazard.
As a result of this public hearing, Dellana Lane was kept open. It was due to heavy citizen opposition that Dellana Lane remained open for 2 more decades before becoming a trail path for Zilker Park.
Pollution from vehicles became a concern as Dellana Lane was located inside a 100 year floodplain resulting in Dellana Lane on the Rollingwood Drive side being closed off. So the road was also closed in 2007 as part of Edwards Aquifer Protection Plan and the City of Austin Parks & Recreation Department had made a portion of Dellana Lane into a trail for Zilker Park.
In 2010, a wide yellow gate with a lock was installed in the middle of Dellana Lane to prevent traffic flow from using the 1 lane road that was already deteriorating in a state of urban decay after a lack maintenance as the road has not been repaved or maintained since the early 2000s.
Today a wide yellow gate with a “road closed” sign has stopped any incoming traffic from using this road. Half of Dellana Lane now serves as a trail for Zilker Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment