Seguin Gazette: City paving the way for $10M in road projects
26 Jan 2020
Roads
Joe Martin The Seguin Gazette
Seguin residents can expect work to begin on millions of dollars in updates to area roads and beyond throughout the coming year.
City council approved the funding for street repairs and additions through the issuance of about $10.2 million in Certificates of Obligations during a regular meeting last week.
“A lot of these projects are geared towards infrastructure projects that the council and the citizens are very concerned about,” Seguin City Manager Steve Parker said. “We see a lot of street projects, and overlays and things like that, and those things are key to making sure we’re keeping up with infrastructure.”
The projects are aimed toward the update and upkeep of several of the city’s streets with a price tag of about $7.26 million.
The most expensive road work slated is North Milam Street at a cost just above $5 million, which will see a complete reconstruction to include drainage, curbing and a sidewalk.
“It’s a long stretch of road, and essentially you’re getting a brand new street and brand new utilities under the street as well,” Seguin City Engineer David Rabago said. “Right now, we’re in the 30% design phase, and once we get more design, then we start looking at the constructibility. I’m guessing it’s probably going to take anywhere from 15 to 18 months to complete.”
The Rudeloff Road project will see almost $1 million for the right of way acquisition; however progress on the acquisition has been mired by the TxDOT review processes, Rabago said.
“Rudeloff Road is an MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) project, which means there’s federal funds attached to it,” he said. “Federal funds are distributed by the Federal Highway Administration, and from there, they’re funneled to the state, and the state acts as the liaison. In this case, TxDOT is the liaison for the state of Texas, meaning that all of the approvals of the design and the construction and ultimately the reimbursement go through TxDOT.”
Meadowlake Drive is slated for rehabilitation through a zipper improvement project set at $140,000.
“With the zipper, we essentially reconstruct the road,” Rabago said. “We scrape away the asphalt, we mill everything that’s under the asphalt, and then we put in what we call a p2 emulsion which is like oil. Then we go in there, and we put down a thin layer of asphalt. So what you get is basically a reconstructed street for a low cost.”
Also, $700,000 is set aside to fund the renovation of streets throughout the area that makes use of the zipper.
A sum of $240,000 is going towards the city’s chip seal program that covers various streets throughout the area to prolong roadway lifespans.
Additionally, about $1.5 million will go towards the repair of the Max Starcke Park Golf Course Pro Shop.
Starcke Golf Course Superintendent and General Manager Bruce Allen said the 82-year-old pro shop building has experienced several issues due to age.
“A lot of the plumbing and electrical works are old,” he said. “The additions to the building made in 1979 or 1980 have a horrible leak, so they are getting ready to tear the whole thing down. I’ve been here 16 years, and it’s been leaking since then.”
Reconstruction of the pro shop is slated to begin March 1, and is estimated to take about 180 days to complete. During reconstruction, the shop will relocate to the Parks and Recreation office.
“In addition to all of that, we will be doing some work on the back, putting greens, the driving range, and restoring some lakes also,” Allen said.
Updates to Seguin’s radio infrastructure are also included in the additions for a little more than a million, which includes the replacement of handheld and stationary radio devices used by the city.
Other projects slated for funding are the extension of the Walnut Springs Trail, the purchase of a street sweeper for the city, a greens mower for the golf course and the replacement of the wash rack at the Public Works Warehouse all with a combined price tag of $1.6 million.
Also discussed during the meeting was the funding of $3.9 million issued from utility revenue bonds to two sewer lines and the Geronimo Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant.
The city will replace the Walnut Branch sanitary sewer line, which runs from Huber Road to Kingsbury Street, and expand upon it through a $1.8 million transformation project.
Additionally, $930,000 will be used for a total reconstruction of the North Milam Street sewer line, which runs from Mountain Street to Kingsbury Street.
As a result of expected residential growth, $1.1 million will be allocated to the Geronimo Creek WWTP for expansion. However, construction is not expected until 2021.
Also during the meeting:
• A resolution was approved following a motion by Jeannette ‘Jet’ Crabb and seconded by council member Chris Rangel for the purchase of 10,800 foot primary cable with a price tag of $78,084. The cable is needed to install four new circuits from the State Highway 123 Bypass substation and will provide power to everything north of Interstate 10.
• A resolution was passed authorizing the purchase of water and wastewater treatment chlorine for the sum of $651 per ton from Brenntag Southwest Inc. The motion to approve was made by council member Mark Herbold and seconded by council member Penny Wallace.
• Seguin can anticipate further expansion after a resolution was passed, authorizing the city manager to enter into a park development agreement with Pulte Homes of Texas LP in relating to the Lily Springs subdivision. At completion, the subdivision will host 420 residences and include 3.7 acres of private parkland. The motion to approve was made by council member Fonda Mathis and seconded by council member Wallace.
Joe Martin is a staff writer for the Seguin Gazette. You can e-mail him at joe.martin@seguingazette.com .
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