Friendswood seeks bids to improve 4 roadways

The city of Friendswood is planning four street projects that were part of a $24 million bond program approved by voters in 2013.

The city solicited construction bids for improvements to a roughly 800-foot stretch of Townes Road between Crofterglen Drive and Lucian Lane; a roughly 1,200-foot section of West Shadowbend Avenue between Woodland Drive and FM 518; a roughly 1,625-foot stretch of Mary Ann Drive between Christina Lane and FM 518; and a roughly 2,100-foot section of Winding Road running from Boundry Court to just north of Merriman Court.

The four street improvements are bid as a single project that city engineers estimate to cost $1.88 million. Patrick Donart, the city’s public works director, said he hopes the estimate is high and that bids from construction contractors will come in lower.

The projects are to replace exist-

ing sections along each of the two-lane streets with concrete curbs and gutters.

“Some of the streets are asphalt, some of them are concrete, some have curbs and some do not,” Donart said. “At the end, they will all have curb and gutters. They will all be concrete, and they all will have good sub-grade.”

Bid together

The four street improvement projects are being bid together to reduce construction costs, he said.

“On such small sections, if we were to bid these out individually, you are essentially paying your mobilization four different times,” Donart said. “You are paying a lot of different things for duplicity. We feel like we will get a better price if we bid all four of the projects at one time with one contractor.”

The city is studying bids that it received Oct. 20. Engineers will review the bids and bring them to city council for selection and approval sometime in November.

Donart said construction probably wouldn’t start until December or early January. The project has a contract time of 300 calendar days, which means the improvements would not be finished until October or November next year.

The roads and streets are not major thoroughfares in the city; however, they are highly trafficked for Friendswood standards, said George Cherepes, a projects coordinator with the city’s public works department.

“They are collector streets and have a bunch of traffic because they go mostly into subdivisions,” he said.

During construction, the roads will be closed to through traffic. However, routes, driveway access and subdivision entrances will be maintained for residents who live near each of the construction zones. According to the city’s project plans, each of the street improvements will be performed in multiple phases, and each will become one-way roads during construction intervals.

Detours planned

Detour signs and construction zone barricades are to be visible during the length of the improvement projects. Residents who live in the construction zones will be detoured to a single lane of each roadway. According to city documents, commuters will utilize single lanes while their opposite lanes are completed.

“People still live there,” Donart said. “We are not paying for hotels. People still have to live there, so there are detour routes for all of these (projects).”

Also, mailboxes belonging to homes with driveways that directly face some of the street projects may be temporarily relocated to opposite sides of the roads during portions of the construction projects.

The four projects are part of $7.7 million designated for the 2013 bond program that is to fund road and street improvements in the city. Mary Ann Drive, Shadowbend Avenue, Townes Road and Winding Road are part of Phase 1 of the bond program.

An additional $5.85 million is to go toward improvements along Blackhawk Boulevard and Woodlawn Drive designated as Phase 3 of the 2013 bond program. City engineers have yet to finalize those the bond’s remaining street and road projects.

In addition to street improvements, the $24 million 2013 bond program also is funding the expansion of public safety buildings, an expansion of the Friendswood Public Library and various park improvements.

A complete list of bond projects and other capital improvement projects being funded by the city can be found at www. ci.friendswood.tx.us.