Creek project in San Antonio costly but worthwhile
The San Pedro Creek flood control and beautification project has been difficult and costly, but will restore life and culture in the historic center city, officials said during a walking tour of the dusty construction site Friday.
“I don’t think you’ll have a more beautiful place in San Antonio to walk on and enjoy than this creek. And it tells the story of our history,” Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff told reporters.
Work began a year ago on the San Pedro Creek Culture Park’s second section. It’s expected to cost $74.7 million, funded primarily by the county, with about $14 million in federal reimbursements for the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River applied to the project.
It will add 1,200 feet to the halfmile linear park that opened last year at a reported cost of $57.3 million.
The section originally was set for completion next year, but March 2021 is more likely.
Suzanne Scott, general manager of the San Antonio River Authority, said the project, in a busy, densely developed area, involves replacement of aging utilities and bridges that carry traffic; proximity to old buildings that required stabilization; and archaeological considerations.
“It has been very complex, working in this very tight, constrained area, but also because it’s very old, (with) lots of infrastructure in this section,” Scott said.
SARA Senior Engineer Kerry Averyt said crews had to stop construction while archaeologists with Raba Kistner investigated for about three months.
They uncovered thousands of artifacts, some dating to the Spanish colonial era, that were sent for storage and cataloging at University of Texas San Antonio’s Center for Archaeological Research.
An old foundation of a 1700s presidio where Spanish soldiers once protected villagers and mission inhabitants was unearthed along Dolorosa Street, Averyt said.
When completed, the new section of the park will feature a community plaza, sculpture garden, five murals, a public restroom and thousands of shrubs, aquatic plants and other landscaping, in what for decades has been a desolate concrete drainage channel.
Despite changes to the timeline and projected costs, officials said construction of the second segment has stayed on schedule since it was fully funded in December. “It’s going to change the west side of the downtown area, a side that’s been somewhat neglected,” Wolff said. “This is the heart of our city. So we’re trying to get that heart beating sound and strong, and be here for a long, long time.”
The phase also will coincide with downtown renewal, including demolition of the old Bexar County Jail, development of a new UTSA cybersecurity campus, renovation of the 1930s Alameda Theatre, construction of new Texas Public Radio offices and a surge of activity from the nearby Frost Tower, now near completion, he said.
One major showpiece will be a “water wall” about 240 feet long, just south of Houston Street, with a pump station lifting water to a trough where it will cascade down about 15 feet into the creek. A permanent art installation that interacts with LED lighting will highlight the water wall.
“Having that water come over will be a great audio and visual interaction for park users. But it will also help improve the water quality. It will help put oxygen back into the water. It will really make it feel refreshing in this block,” Averyt said.
To minimize impact on traffic, crews are building the south side of the Commerce Street bridge first, leaving a lane open on the north side, then will direct traffic to the south lanes to complete the bridge.
Replacement of the Dolorosa bridge will be similarly phased. The Houston Street bridge replacement will require a complete street closure, probably starting in November, Averyt said.
The county and SARA are working with property owners to minimize impacts during the two years of construction that remain.
“They know long term, it’s going to pay big, big dividends to them,” Wolff said.
The first phase of the park opened in May as part of San Antonio’s yearlong tricentennial celebration and features a variety of public art.
Once the entire project is completed, the park will cover 2.2 miles, from the flood tunnel inlet near Fox Tech High School to the point where Alazan and Apache creeks meet south of downtown near Interstate 35.
Wolff said the county has received $35 million in reimbursement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the river’s Mission Reach, a project begun in 2008 and completed in 2013, that will be used to fund the creek project.
“And we got that money principally because we promised them we would put it into another flood control project and a restoration, so $35 million of that money is going into this project.” Wolff said.
He said he believes the cost for the other segments of the park will go “way down” per linear foot, as they will focus more on environmental restoration. The county also asked the corps, when local leaders went to Washington last week, for another $25 million reimbursement.
“We’re hopeful that the federal government sees the investment that the local parties are making,” County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez said.