What does this project accomplish?
Planned TxDOT improvements to NW Military Highway in the City of Shavano Park are:
- Adding a continuous center-turn lane
- Adding sidewalks and bicycle accommodations
- Adding a traffic signal at Pond Hill Road intersection
- Installing raised medians between Loop 1604 and Wagon Trail Road
- Multiple drainage improvements to prevent increased storm water runoff
- Partial reconstruction of residential driveways to safely tie into the expanded road
- VIA covered bus stop installed near Pond Hill Road & NW Military Highway[1]
[1] Improvement completed by VIA
When does this Project Start? When will it end?
Construction began July 2021. Construction work is anticipated to be done by June 2024.
Will there be Right-of-Way acquisition by the State?
No. All improvements are located within the state’s right of way. Any work that otherwise affects private property will be coordinated with individual property owners.
How much does this project cost?
This is a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) project being built with a combination of state and federal dollars. The total project cost is approximately $15.5M.
The City of Shavano Park’s costs are due to the requirement to relocate water lines to ensure water lines are not under the highway pavement and out of the way of other utilities in the right of way. The relocating of the water lines was a joint bid with TxDOT and the cost is approximately $850,000.
The City received low interest funding 20-year loan from the State Infrastructure Bank to pay for the water line relocation. The first payment on the loan ($57,880) will be on August 15, 2022.
What will lane closures look like during construction?
At the start of construction, we expect two out of the four existing lanes will be closed, leaving two lanes open, one in each direction (see picture below).
This configuration could stay in place for several months.
The public can expect lane closures to change throughout the course of construction, but at least one lane will always be kept open in each direction.
The City of Shavano Park will be providing traffic and construction updates through this website, our social media channels, and the Roadrunner Newsletter.
What will the speed limit be during construction?
The speed limit of NW Military is 40 miles per hour (lowered from 45 miles per hour) throughout construction.
The City and TxDOT will continue to monitor roadway safety throughout the project and consider additional speed limit changes when necessary.
Will I have to move my mailbox or fence if it is near the highway?
TxDOT will be removing mailboxes, fences and other obstructive items from the right of way prior to beginning construction. TxDOT will coordinate with property owners who have items located in the right of way prior to removal.
How do I get my mail during construction?
The United States Parcel Service (USPS) and TxDOT have installed community mailboxes at City Hall (900 Saddletree Court) to provide temporary mail service for property owners on NW Military Highway during the construction project.
On July 16 USPS stopped door-to-door attempts to deliver keys to the community mailbox and all mail delivery was routed to the community mailbox at City Hall. If you have not received your mail key yet, you must go to the nearby Post Office (12951 Huebner Road) and provide valid ID with matching address and/or bring provide a copy of a utility bill to provide proof of residency in order to receive your key.
Save the key you receive from USPS! It will be how you access your mail from the community mailbox at City Hall! A picture of the Community Mailbox and its location at City Hall is below.
If you do not receive your key, or plan to be out of town, or have other questions, please contact City Staff at (210) 493-3478 or email contact@shavanopark.org.
How will I access my home during construction?
The TxDOT contractor is required to maintain access to homes. The only time a residential driveway will be compromised is during the time that crews are reconstructing that driveway. Partial reconstruction of residential driveways will be necessary to correctly connect those driveways to the newly expanded road. The contractor will coordinate with the resident before construction on their driveway begins.
How will I receive trash and recycling services during construction?
Residents who live on NW Military Hwy must have their Trash and Recycle carts placed for curbside collection by 7:00 a.m. beginning the week of July 26th, 2021. The time change is due to lane closures and road construction on NW Military Hwy. This collection time will remain in effect until the road construction is complete.
How many trees will be removed? Will there be re-plantings?
Unfortunately, a considerable amount of the trees in the right of way will be removed during construction. The City and TxDOT have worked together to try and minimize these losses, but most are unavoidable to accommodate the highway expansion and to maintain roadside safety clearance. Trees to be removed will be clearly tagged by the project team.
After the project is complete the City will work with TxDOT to consider new landscaping and plantings to re-beautify the right of way.
I hear that a lot of trees will need to be removed in the TxDOT right-of-way. The Shavano Park Planning and Zoning Commission’s concept that was presented to TxDOT asked that the sidewalk meander through the right-of-way in order to save more trees. Why did TxDOT not follow the City’s initial design request?
The sidewalk location is not a major contributor to tree removal. Trees will need to be removed for three primary reasons: 1) those trees that are in conflict with the widening of the road; 2) those trees that are in conflict with the movement of the utilities; and 3) the requirement for storm water drains and drainage ditches in some areas.
One of the project’s key goals is to improve drainage systems along the corridor. The underground storm sewer and drainage ditches require excavation that will disturb the root systems of the trees, which will make the trees unstable and create a safety concern. After the evaluation of several sidewalk designs, including the meandering of the sidewalks around the existing trees, TxDOT identified the final design as the best option for improving drainage along the project corridor.
If the road was only going to be widened and only a bike lane added, what is the typical “no tree clear zone” from the curb or the edge of the pavement where trees would be removed?
The design criteria for the roadway requires a clear zone outside of the of curb line 4-6’ that is clear of obstacles or trees. Driveway approaches to the roadway also need adequate line of sight to traffic along FM 1535 that is clear of obstacles or trees. The clear zone is measured from the face of the outside curb, and for FM 1535 the minimum distance is 4’ and the desirable clear zone is 6’, so trees within this area would be in the clear zone of the roadway and most likely needed to be removed.
Will the storm water drain pipes be predominately located over the bike lane or the sidewalk? If the answer is the sidewalk, then the trees would have to be removed to emplace the storm water drain pipes, whether there was a sidewalk or not…
It is predominately located under the sidewalk behind the curb line, but there are multiple areas where the storm sewer line and the driveway culverts are very long and located closer to the right of way line where the low points are at the ditches. It should be noted the existing drainage ditches were too shallow to handle the runoff from the adjacent properties, as such the proposed project will make this drainage ditches deeper to handle the runoff and carry the water to the nearest outfall or culvert.
If there is a tree right next to the sidewalk (let’s say one foot), will that tree need to be removed?
It all depends on the size of the tree, the damage to the root ball if excavation occurred next to the tree due to the drainage system or not. If the tree’s root system is compromised then it would not be stable and most likely had to be removed.
Who do I contact if I have problems or concerns with the construction?
If you have any questions, problems or concerns regarding the construction or the work of the contractor, please call the City at 210.493.3478 or email contact@shavanopark.org.
Who do I contact if I have problems with my water service?
If you are a Shavano Park Water Utility customer and have any questions, problems or concerns, please call the Water Department at 210.492.2841 or email wateroffice@shavanopark.org.
What days and times will construction work take place?
Construction crews will be working primarily Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Weekend work and night work may be required.
How can I stay up to date with the project?
The City will provide project updates and information through this website project page, the Roadrunner Newsletter (mailed and posted on this webpage), and our social media channels: Twitter @ShavanoPark, Facebook @ShavanoPark, and the Shavano Park NextDoor community.
If runoff flows onto the Elm Spring roadway, what length of NW Military Highway will that rainwater be from? Which direction will the drainage culverts be pitched?
The length of NW Military Highway draining to the new culvert matches the length draining to the existing culvert, approximately 1,000 feet. The direction of the new culvert matches the existing culvert.
If runoff flows onto Elm Spring Lane, what plans are being made to mitigate the impact of the additional storm water?
Although the new culvert will have additional capacity, there will be a weir inside the culvert to constrict the flow to existing conditions. The City of Shavano Park will be looking into an overall drainage study that may or may not modify this in the future and any additional flow will be at the City’s direction.
Given the widening of the road by approximately 14 feet, 10 inches on both the east and west side of the current road (creating a total cross-section width of 79 ft, 8 inches feet of impervious cover, which includes the new curb and sidewalks); how is it that the amount of storm water collected will remain the same?
The amount of storm water runoff will slightly increase due to the new impervious area. However, when the culvert is replaced, a weir will be added to control the rate of this runoff. The weir will release the runoff so the rate exiting the new culvert will equal the existing culvert’s flow rate. There will be no increase in the flow exiting the new culvert.
I see there is a plan to extend the median from Loop 1604 south to Wagon Trail. Why is the median required from Pond Hill Road to Wagon Trail?
The median is extended partly to give south bound traffic turning left onto Wagon Trail Rd a safe place to queue. It also reduces conflict points by restricting a left-turn movement from one of the residential driveways.