City of Liberty looking toward next round of street improvements

In the last meeting of 2023, Liberty City Council on Tuesday, Dec. 12, began looking toward projects and improvements for the coming year. City Manager Tom Warner provided Council with a list of proposed streets for the City’s 2024 Street Rehabilitation Program. These projects will be advertised for bidding at the end of December and bids will be opened in February 2024.

The estimated costs for the 2024 Street Rehabilitation Program is $2.563 million with roughly $2.1 million going toward repaving and $400,000 going toward proposed water and sewer improvements.

The streets slated for upgrades are:

• Oklahoma St. from US 90 to Washington St.
• Fort Worth St. from US 90 to Washington St.
• Alabama St. from Lamar St. to Trinity St.
• Ohio St. from US 90 to Washington St.
• Alabama St. from US 90 to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
• Louisiana St. from the railroad tracks to Trinity St.
• Louisiana St. from US 90 to Washington St.
• Able St. from Beaumont Ave. to the end of the road
• Georgia St. from US 90 to Washington St.
• Alabama St. from US 90 to Washington St.
• Loblolly St. from Wallisville Road to Linden Lane
• Cornell St. from Texas St. to Independence St.
• Lakeland Dr. from 1515 Lakeland to Grand Ave.
• Lakeland Dr. from Jefferson Dr. to 1,500 feet south
• Robbie St. from Grand Ave. to the north end of the street
• Browning St. from Monta St. to Magnolia St.
• Washington St. from Louisiana to the east end of the street
• Monta St. from Milam St. to Bowie St.

The estimated total length of the paving project is 15,520 feet.

As for rehabilitation of Texas Street, which is part of the 2023 Street Rehabilitation Program, there were major delays in the completion of the project due to unforeseen issues with the water and sewer lines under the street. Those have now been upgraded and repaired, and the paving of Texas Street should take place after the first of the year, weather permitting.

Warner said the contractor will be looking for windows in the weather where it is warm enough to apply asphalt.

The 2023 and 2024 street rehabilitation projects are funded through the Cambridge Fund, which is derived from the sale of wholesale electricity from the Sam Rayburn Municipal Power Agency, of which the City of Liberty is one of three member-cities, the others being Livingston and Jasper.

Council was also updated on the Minglewood Water and Sewer Improvement Project, which will include the removal of sewer lift stations on Minglewood and in the Tanner-Glen streets area. The sewer is being diverted to the Beaumont Ave. lift station that was recently upgraded in recent years. Warner said eliminating the two lift stations will save the City money in the long-term because they will no longer have to be maintained. This project, which includes the repaving of Minglewood, is being funded through a $1 million grant from the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Much-needed repairs to McGuire Road are also in the works but improvements will not come before 2025. Warner said the City has hired an engineering firm who has already begun the preliminary design.

“They have to go out and survey the roads and locate the utilities before creating their design. The timeline for this project will be about 18 months from design to when the road will be complete,” he said.