By Sahar Chmais
More than five years have passed since the city of Buda’s 2014 bond election and while many of the projects have been finished, but there are still some items in the works from propositions three, four and five.
Proposition 3
Proposition three funds road improvements; some streets have been completed and some are still in progress.
Cabela’s Drive to Railroad Street is currently at a delay from where Shipley Donuts sits all the way to Railroad Street. A conflict with the sewer lines and water lines was detected during the excavation phase which caused the delay in the work so they will need to reroute the water lines. This doesn’t stop the work, but it won’t go as quickly as expected, explained Kenny Crawford, project manager for the city of Buda.
Crawford emphasized that this is no fault of the contractor, designer or city, but they didn’t know the lines conflicted until the ground was unearthed. He did see a positive angle in the situation. Crawford said that rerouting the current water plan line and putting it under the road will save dollars and time. Now the city will lay pipe in an open ditch from Hawk Lane near Stagecoach Park and Willie’s Joint and run it to Nighthawk Lane, which is about 1,200 feet.
RM 967 and Main Street, originally a bond project, will also see some improvements through a joint project with TxDOT and is expected to be completed on schedule. This is no longer a bond project because the city applied for funding through Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization funding allocation.
The downtown and RM 967 project is on schedule. Although there’s a traffic challenge right now, when the roads open up in early spring, the traffic will ease. Both streets will be getting a facelift, Crawford said.
The two finished projects from proposition three are Old San Antonio Road and Old Goforth Road, which has a new face, according to Crawford.
Proposition 4
Proposition four was passed for drainage improvement.
Oxbow Trail is complete. The next project the city will work on is the west side of the railroad tracks along FM 2770. The drainage easement has been agreed upon and settled. Currently they’re working on getting a land acquisition on the south side and need to submit an advanced funding agreement with TxDOT which should happen in the next five to 10 days. The design for this project is fully complete. This project’s grant funds are led by the city and FEMA and will take four to six months to complete, when a notice to proceed is issued.
The city is also trying to add a culvert on West Goforth Road and Loop Street, but before they can do the work, they must gain approval from Union Pacific. So far, the city has received resistance and a denial. Crawford said they are looking to alter the design or other ways that will gain the city the authority to put the culverts under the railroad.
Proposition 5
Proposition five, which addresses the improvement of parks and trails, has a few projects under construction.
City Park is on schedule, barring any major flooding or any obstacles of that nature. It’s projected to have substantial completion by March 29, Crawford said. All the sod has been placed, 80 percent of the vegetation is in place, the hydro-mulch has been applied and needs two more applications. They will plant a total of 516 trees along with other shrubs, grass covers and ground covers.
The amphitheater is almost finished, but its restrooms and behind-the-stage element need roofing. The electrical and plumbing is 90 percent complete, and the city is only waiting for a new power pole and power line. The concrete will be placed within the next week. By the end of February or early March, the playground will be delivered and installed with everything else on track.
All of these propositions have been implemented within budget; in fact, the Oxbow Trail project had savings of $14,000, Crawford said. There is still one final payout toward Old Goforth Road which will also be on budget.
