City to begin Sessom Drive improvement project

City of San Marcos                                                NEWS

630 E. Hopkins

San Marcos, Texas 78666

February 18, 2010

For Immediate Release

Contact: Melissa Millecam, Communications/ Intergovernmental Relations Director

512.393.8105  mmillecam@sanmarcostx.gov

For more information, call the City of San Marcos Capital Improvements Department at 512.393.8130.

Project Begins March 4

City to Begin Sessom Drainage, Pavement Improvements

The first of several drainage and street improvement projects in the Sessom- North LBJ Drive area will begin March 4 with a storm drainage project along Sessom from University Drive to Academy Street. 

Motorists are advised to watch for lane closures and construction crews from now until early summer on the busy roadway that runs behind Texas State University and provides access to major residential areas in western San Marcos.

The first project, scheduled will repair drainage inlets and install new culverts to improve drainage along Sessom. The project also will include some street reconstruction. The project is expected to take five to eight weeks, weather permitting.

The City Council awarded a $1.15 million construction contract to Austin Underground, Inc. on February 2.  The project was approved by voters in the City’s 2005 bond election.

 “This long-awaited project will impact thousands of students and university staff at Texas State, as well as residents living in the area,” said David Healey, Director of Capital Improvements. “We are making every effort to complete the improvements as quickly and efficiently as we can.”  

The contractor will work both days and nights to speed completion. Rainy weather could extend the construction time.

The project will be followed by a Texas Department of Transportation project to improve guardrails and mill and overlay Sessom Drive. That project will begin after the drainage project is completed in the spring and should be finished by early summer.

Other projects scheduled in the Sessom North-LBJ area in the next two years will include:

•           Pedestrian safety improvements at Sessom and University/ Aquarena Springs

•           Sidewalk improvements along Sessom on the campus side of the street

•           Realignment and new traffic signals at the intersection at Peques and State Street

•           Construction of a 24-inch water line from the Spring Lake pump station to the Comanche water storage tank

•           Complete reconstruction of North LBJ Drive from Sessom to Holland Street, with a new 12-inch water line, storm drains, curbs and gutters, street reconstruction and eight-foot sidewalks on both sides of the street.

Sessom Drive is a major arterial for Texas State students, University personnel and the general public in San Marcos. The roadway was built in the 1970’s and has had few major improvements in the past 30 years.

For more information, call the City of San Marcos Capital Improvements Department at 512.393.8130.