Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio’s newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
J. Bruce Bugg Jr., a San Antonio banker and chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission (TTC), died on Wednesday. He was 70.
The cause of the death was not officially disclosed, but people close to him said he died suddenly from complications following back surgery.
“It was a big loss. It came as a shock to everybody. We’re all gonna miss him,” said former Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. “He made a big impact on our community and a big impact on the state.”
Wolff, a Democrat, noted that he and Bugg were able to get along and work together for decades despite being in different political parties.
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Bugg to the TTC in 2015. He served as chairman since 2017.
“TXDOT has by far the biggest impact on the state than any other commission does, and it was good for San Antonio that he was chair because he helped bring a lot of major projects here — including some going up right now like 1604 and I-10,” Wolff said.
Bugg wore a lot of hats. He served as president and CEO of Texas Partners Bank.
As chairman and trustee of the Tobin Endowment, he was credited for helping build the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in downtown San Antonio.
“We really came close together during the time that we went to the voters in 2008 and they approved $100 million for the Tobin Center, and we created a nonprofit to run it, and Bruce — we appointed him chairman of it, and then he was able to raise another $58 million…”
Bugg also served on the boards of Humanities Texas and the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, and he was a trustee of Texas Biomed and the McNay Art Museum.
In a statement, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai considered Bugg “a huge asset to Bexar County in so many ways, most recently as the chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission. Our community has lost a true champion.”
Marc Williams, executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, called Bugg “a steadfast leader whose vision and dedication helped shape the future of transportation across our state. His commitment to improving safety, expanding mobility, and strengthening Texas’ infrastructure has left an enduring legacy that will benefit generations to come.”
Abbott said on Wednesday that “[we] are grieving this loss alongside his loved ones, especially his wife Alethea and their two sons, and the many Texans whose lives he touched.”
Bugg earned law and business degrees from Southern Methodist University.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
The project focuses on a stretch between Loop 410 South and Loop 410 North interchanges on the Northeast Side.
Bugg’s TTC oversaw multiple projects that affected the lives of San Antonio residents — especially drivers — every day.
For example, in May 2024, in Northeast San Antonio, ground was broken for a $700 million section of the state’s $3 billion I-35 double decker project. That phase focuses on a stretch between I-35’s Loop 410 South and Loop 410 North interchanges. It will bring two main lanes and one high-occupancy lane, or HOV lane, in each direction above the existing lanes of I-35.
Bugg told TPR at the time that the project will ease congestion and keep the Texas economy booming. “We are the eighth largest economy in the entire world so we have to keep our transportation system up to standard,” he said.
Bugg added that $40 billion’s worth of projects are in the works to keep up with massive population growth across the state as part of the Texas Clear Lanes project that focuses on the worst transportation chokepoints in the state.
The $43 million Broadway project from the 2017 city bond is in jeopardy after the Texas Transportation Commission voted Thursday to retain control over Broadway.
Bugg also pointed to the need to reduce congestion in 2022 when the TTC voted to retain control over Broadway, one of San Antonio’s main arteries north of downtown.
The City of San Antonio said at the time that it had owned Broadway since 2014, but the state and TxDOT claimed the transfer arrangement was never completed.
Commissioners voted to rescind a decision from a previous meeting in 2014 that started the process of taking Broadway out of the state highway system and giving ownership of Broadway to San Antonio.
The city’s redevelopment project for Broadway contained a plan for bike lines that would remove two lanes of traffic. Voters approved the project as part of the 2017 bond package.
But commissioners disagreed with the removal of vehicle lanes. They argued it would reduce vehicle capacity.
“What we’re trying to do is stay consistent with our congestion relief initiatives and not go backwards by reducing capacity,” Bugg said at the time. “This action we’re contemplating has nothing to do with — against bike lanes or whatever. It has to do everything with maintaining capacity.”
Some of the city’s vision of bike lanes, more plants, and smaller streetlights was realized between downtown and I-35. By 2025, Broadway from I-35 north to Burr Road remained under state control. More lanes were added, sidewalks and lighting improved, and the street is regularly filled with traffic.
Former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros told the Express-News that Bugg “takes a big part of the energy of building San Antonio with him.”
“If there was a person with the golden touch for starting things and watching them prosper, it was Bruce,” he added.
Great Job TPR Staff & the Team @ Texas Public Radio Source link for sharing this story.
