City OKs $2.6M bid on project

Tor Drive work to include widening, bike lanes, sidewalks and more

By Valerie Bustamante

The city made another move forward in improving the roadways during a regular city council meeting on Tuesday.

A $2.6 million bid from Dean Word Company for the Tor Drive Roadway Widening and Improvement Project construction contract was approved unanimously following a motion by councilwoman Fonda Mathis and a second by councilman Chris Rangel.

“It’s been a long time coming, but finally we’re able to recommend the award of the contract … we’ve been through a lot of paperwork and effort to get to this point,” City Engineer Joe Ramos said during the meeting.

The project, which will include roadway widening, new bike lanes, sidewalks and a continuous left turn lane — will enhance connectivity from State Highway 123 Business to State Highway 123 Bypass, Seguin Public Information Officer Morgan Ash said.

In July, the city received 11 bids, which ranged from $2.6 million to $3.7 million, Ramos said.

“Dean Word was the lowest bid (for the project,)” he said. “Brown and Gay Engineering (BGE), our consultant did some reference checking … and substantially submitted a recommendation for the bid by Dean Word.”

The $2.6 million bid is only for construction costs and the construction contract, not the total project cost as Texas Department of Public Transportation is chipping in, Ramos said.

The project was selected in 2013 by the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for federal funding, Ash said.

The Tor Drive project is expected to receive $2.9 million from federal funding; $204,000 of state funding and $1.3 million from city funding, she said.

“There will be other third party costs associated with the project such as the geotechnical services that are not included in these numbers,” Ash said.

These costs will be discussed at the next city council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 19, Ramos said.

The bid approval is just one step in the entire process, he said.

“There are still numerous approvals required by TxDOT that the city and contractor must fulfill before construction can start,” Ramos said. “This is our first MPO funded project so we are still dealing with an intense learning curve, and may still see unknown obstacles before we can get started. Since the project is being partly funded by TxDOT we have to follow their protocols not ours, which adds time to the project.”

Construction on Tor Drive is expected to start in late fall, Ash said.

“The project will take 8 months to a year to complete, weather and other unknown factors permitting,” she said.