During last Tuesday’s Edinburg City Council meeting, Director of Utilities Gerardo Carmona and Assistant City Manager Tom Reyna presented details on the Owassa Road Sanitary Sewer Improvements.
The agenda packet states that about 102 properties totaling 325 acres along east and west Owassa Road were annexed in 2013 and 2015, respectively, and need sanitary sewer services. The improvements will be made from Jackson Road to U.S. Highway 281 and from that point to Veterans Boulevard.
For the west side of the road, the budget is $1.4 million, while the fund for the east side is $600,000.
During the meeting, Carmona said that the east side will not need a lift station.
“Since we have some manholes that are deep enough, we’ll be able to run it by gravity,” he said.
Later on, Carmona explained the east side of the project will require easements to run the sewer lines.
He added that the sewer system will function by gravity on the west side but since the existing manholes are not deep enough in the area, a lift station will be needed.
Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. asked for the estimated timeline for the project, to which Carmona replied the engineering would take from five to six months and the construction would take a year to finish.
The project will be completed in phases and consists of agricultural, business and residential areas.
Reyna explained the project will have to be completed in phases due to the estimated cost of the project.
“A big portion of that will be the land acquisition that Mr. Carmona stated,” he said.
Reyna also reminded the council that the city does not own any right-of-way on Owassa Road and that it belongs to the City of Pharr. Edinburg officials are currently working with Pharr officials for an interlocal agreement to assist Edinburg with the sewer lines.
“Obviously, we want to target, you know, the residential areas and the business areas,” Edinburg City Manager Myra Ayala said. “The area in its entirety is a priority for us.”
Ayala clarified that some of the monies come from bond funding and capital improvement projects. Reyna said the project was budgeted from 2019 utility bonds, which was already set in place for improvement projects.
Residents would have to pay to connect to the sewer
system and the city will provide an option to connect within three years, according to Reyna.
“The reason why we do the direct connect during that time is we don’t know the current infrastructure of
the home,” he said. “That’s why they would have to have a license to do that connection.”
In other business, the council approved a resolution that will result in intersection improvements to Freddy Gonzalez Drive and Closner Boulevard. The city will submit a preliminary application for the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TASA) Program from the Texas Department of Transportation.
The city proposed to upgrade all intersection streetlights and to add a fourth eastbound lane. This will result in improved pedestrian traffic, according to the agenda packet.
Other changes include modification to the ground boxes, power holes, inlets and sidewalks.
The project cost is an estimated $478,000 and the agenda packet states that the city qualifies for 100% of the total project funding. Intersection improvements begin after October 2023 if the grant is awarded, and the project is anticipated to be completed in a year.
