Maple Street construction project delayed, city doesn't 'know the finish date'
The Maple Street construction project has been ongoing in south Abilene for the past year. When is its estimated end date?
While the Texas Department of Transportation is in charge of the now-delayed Buffalo Gap Road project, the Maple Street project is city-run and recently hit another delay when workers uncovered a petroleum pipeline that required more extensive work to protect it from the now-widened road.
Max Johnson, director of public works, said while that the city was aware of these old pipelines, it is "not a significant delay."
He was unable to give the projected end date of the entire project when asked.
"Don't know the finish date"
Maple Street is only in phase one of three.
Johnson said work started at the end of June 2023, and the contractor had 180 working days to finish. They are "still within that time frame," Johnson said.
When asked what the end date of that timeframe should be, he said May 28, but that there are "many other delays, both weather and on the intersection at Colony Hill" — in addition to "some unexpected findings."
When asked when they will complete phase one of Maple Street, he said, "I can't give a date to that."
"With unexpected findings, there is potential to add time to the contract," Johnson said.
The city is "still negotiating with how many days to add," he said.
When asked when the entire Maple Street project could end, Johnson hesitated before saying that when looking at the Maple Street project as well as the East North 10th Street project, we "don't know the finish date for both of the projects."
The Reporter-News filed an open records request with the city this week to find out what the original projected end date of the project was and what the projected end date is now.
'With work taking about one year'
On June 7, 2021, the Abilene City Council first looked at the project to renovate and widen six miles of Maple Street from East South 11th Street to FM 707.
At the time, city officials said the projected start date would be summer of 2022 "with work taking about one year" to complete, according to previous Reporter-News coverage of the project.
At that June 10, 2021, City Council meeting, councilmembers voted to pay out over $23.5 million dollars of tax revenue for both the Maple Street project and the East North 10th project.
At the time, however, City Manager Robert Hanna said, "Those numbers could go up."
All councilmembers then voted in favor of the project to continue.
Three years later
At the April 25 City Council meeting, councilmembers voted to reimburse the energy company to relocate and increase the casing of underground pipelines below Maple Street.
"Several oil and gas pipelines run underneath Maple Street at Hardison Lane," two of which are owned by Energy Transfer, according to the recent city council agenda packet.
The Maple Street project will therefore "require relocation of the vent pipes, and extension of the casing of those two pipelines which lie underneath the roadway."
According to the agenda packet, the city has negotiated a reimbursement agreement with the company of "75%, or up to $161,250, of the actual costs to be incurred by Energy Transfer to relocate the vent pipes and increase the casing of their two pipelines."
Johnson said the extra work to increase the casing around these pipelines will not cause "a significant delay."
He also said, however, that the project has hit "some overruns," then referenced the increase in the cost of materials such as asphalt and concrete.
Johnson said the city is "not immune to the economy, due to COVID and the economy."
When asked about the dollar amount behind those overruns, Johnson said they are "not significantly over."
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This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Maple Street project delayed, city doesn't 'know the finish date'
