diff --git a/okhttp/src/main/java/io/grpc/okhttp/OkHttpClientTransport.java b/okhttp/src/main/java/io/grpc/okhttp/OkHttpClientTransport.java
index 3d758d2f258..f1014cd7621 100644
--- a/okhttp/src/main/java/io/grpc/okhttp/OkHttpClientTransport.java
+++ b/okhttp/src/main/java/io/grpc/okhttp/OkHttpClientTransport.java
@@ -83,7 +83,9 @@
 import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Random;
+import java.util.concurrent.BrokenBarrierException;
 import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
+import java.util.concurrent.CyclicBarrier;
 import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
 import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
 import java.util.logging.Level;
@@ -499,31 +501,16 @@ public Runnable start(Listener listener) {
       outboundFlow = new OutboundFlowController(this, frameWriter);
     }
     final CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
-    // This runs con-concurrently with handshake and works as a hack checking enough threads are
-    // available to start the transport.
-    executor.execute(new Runnable() {
-      @SuppressWarnings("WaitNotInLoop")
-      @Override
-      public void run() {
-        long waitStartTime = System.nanoTime();
-        synchronized (lock) {
-          try {
-            lock.wait(100);
-          } catch (InterruptedException e) {
-            Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
-          }
-        }
-        long waitEndTime = System.nanoTime();
-        if (waitEndTime - waitStartTime >= 100000000) { // never got notified
-          startGoAway(0, ErrorCode.INTERNAL_ERROR, Status.UNAVAILABLE
-              .withDescription("Timed out waiting for second handshake thread. "
-                  + "The transport executor pool may have run out of threads"));
-        }
-      }
-    });
-
+    final CountDownLatch latchForExtraThread = new CountDownLatch(1);
+    // The transport needs up to two threads to function once started,
+    // but only needs one during handshaking. Start another thread during handshaking
+    // to make sure there's still a free thread available. If the number of threads is exhausted,
+    // it is better to kill the transport than for all the transports to hang unable to send.
+    CyclicBarrier barrier = new CyclicBarrier(2);
     // Connecting in the serializingExecutor, so that some stream operations like synStream
     // will be executed after connected.
+
+    long waitStartTime = System.nanoTime();
     serializingExecutor.execute(new Runnable() {
       @Override
       public void run() {
@@ -532,8 +519,21 @@ public void run() {
         // network is not available during startup while another thread holding lock to send the
         // initial preface.
         try {
+          barrier.await();
+          long waitEndTime = System.nanoTime();
+          System.out.println("after barrier");
+          if (waitEndTime - waitStartTime > 10000000) {
+            startGoAway(0, ErrorCode.INTERNAL_ERROR, Status.UNAVAILABLE
+                .withDescription("Timed out waiting for second handshake thread. "
+                + "The transport executor pool may have run out of threads"));
+            if (connectedFuture != null) {
+              connectedFuture.set(null);
+            }
+            System.out.println("started goaway");
+            return;
+          }
           latch.await();
-        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+        } catch (InterruptedException | BrokenBarrierException e) {
           Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
         }
         // Use closed source on failure so that the reader immediately shuts down.
@@ -604,7 +604,19 @@ sslSocketFactory, hostnameVerifier, sock, getOverridenHost(), getOverridenPort()
           if (sslSession != null) {
             securityInfo = new InternalChannelz.Security(new InternalChannelz.Tls(sslSession));
           }
-          lock.notify();
+          latchForExtraThread.countDown();
+        }
+      }
+    });
+
+    executor.execute(new Runnable() {
+      @Override
+      public void run() {
+        try {
+          barrier.await();
+          latchForExtraThread.await();
+        } catch (BrokenBarrierException | InterruptedException e) {
+          Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
         }
       }
     });
diff --git a/okhttp/src/test/java/io/grpc/okhttp/OkHttpClientTransportTest.java b/okhttp/src/test/java/io/grpc/okhttp/OkHttpClientTransportTest.java
index f3ddf0d1dce..37f3e92f514 100644
--- a/okhttp/src/test/java/io/grpc/okhttp/OkHttpClientTransportTest.java
+++ b/okhttp/src/test/java/io/grpc/okhttp/OkHttpClientTransportTest.java
@@ -1736,6 +1736,7 @@ public void unreachableServer() throws Exception {
         EAG_ATTRS,
         NO_PROXY,
         tooManyPingsRunnable);
+    //hi
 
     ManagedClientTransport.Listener listener = mock(ManagedClientTransport.Listener.class);
     clientTransport.start(listener);