Mayor Neal Linnartz

I’m excited to share an important new initiative that is already making a visible difference across our city — the Right-of-Way (ROW) & Beautification Program.

Maintaining clean, attractive public spaces is a priority for our community, and the City is taking direct action to ensure that key corridors reflect the pride we all have in New Braunfels. While the City has always maintained its own facilities and streetscapes, we’ve now expanded our efforts to take a more active role in maintaining areas traditionally managed by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), such as IH-35 and Loop 337.

TxDOT has historically handled mowing and litter pickup along their right-of-way, but their schedule — just two mow cycles per year — left long periods where grass and weeds would grow too tall, vegetation became overgrown, and litter started to accumulate. So, the City began looking at ways to improve the appearance and safety of these highly visible corridors. 

In the most recently adopted annual budget, three new positions were added to establish a dedicated Right-of-Way (ROW) Maintenance Team. This team focuses exclusively on mowing, weed eating, and litter pickup along IH-35, Loop 337, and other TxDOT-managed areas — every four to six weeks. This is a dramatic increase in frequency compared to TxDOT’s twice-a-year schedule, allowing the City to maintain these major roadways at a higher standard year-round.

The ROW Maintenance Team’s work includes:

• Mowing grass and trimming vegetation around signs, underpasses, and medians
• Applying herbicide to prevent overgrowth
• Picking up litter and removing illegal “bandit” signs
• Maintaining entrance and exit ramps

This enhanced effort is already improving curb appeal, discouraging illegal dumping, and ensuring that both residents and visitors experience a cleaner, more welcoming environment as they travel through New Braunfels. It's part of a broader commitment to keeping our city safe, functional, and visually appealing for all who live, work, and visit here.

And the efforts go well beyond mowing. The Beautification Crew — a separate but equally important team — is now focused on high-traffic areas throughout the city, including the heart of our community: downtown New Braunfels. These crews are actively working on improving landscaping, enhancing pocket parks, maintaining city facilities, and making New Braunfels more visually appealing from every angle. 

An important part of this effort is bringing more of this work in-house. From downtown corridors to civic buildings, the City’s teams are now handling tasks that were previously outsourced — a move that not only enhances quality and consistency but also results in long-term cost savings for the City and its taxpayers.

Of course, weather and other factors can make it difficult to stick to an exact calendar. That’s why flexibility was built into the ROW & Beautification Program. City crews closely monitor conditions and respond where the need is greatest. When rainfall causes grass to grow more quickly, City crews may accelerate their work along IH-35 and Loop 337 to stay ahead of overgrowth. During slower growth periods, the team shifts its focus to enhanced litter control and detailed maintenance, such as trimming around signage and treating medians with herbicide.

In addition, the City has implemented a bi-weekly litter pickup schedule on IH-35, helping ensure that trash does not accumulate along our most visible corridor. This proactive approach helps keep roadways clean and safe, and it also reinforces our community’s expectations for cleanliness and care.

This initiative is an ongoing effort, and the City will continue analyzing crew capacity, optimizing schedules, and adjusting focus areas as needed. As the program is refined and expanded, the focus is not only on maintaining what the City has built, but also on identifying additional opportunities for improvement and beautification throughout New Braunfels.

Most importantly, this initiative is about civic pride. A well-maintained right-of-way isn’t just about appearances — it improves safety, supports economic development, and shows how much we care for our shared spaces.

We’re proud of what’s already been accomplished, and we’re just getting started. The City of New Braunfels is committed to investing in our public spaces and keeping New Braunfels looking its best, every day of the year.

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Mayor Neal Linnartz