City moves project forward as growth continues along northern transportation corridors

(Seguin) — A long-awaited project to expand Cordova Road is moving closer to construction, following recent action by the Seguin City Council.

The council approved an amendment to its professional services agreement with Pape-Dawson Engineers, allowing the firm to take on additional project management responsibilities as the city prepares to improve Cordova Road between State Highway 46 and State Highway 123.

The decision came on the same day that city officials celebrated another major transportation milestone — the completion of the first phase of the Rudeloff Road expansion project. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Tuesday morning, October 20, to mark the completion of that work. The Rudeloff Road project will eventually extend all the way to State Highway 123, providing another important east-west connection across northern Seguin.

While that project reached an important milestone, the city is now working to move the Cordova Road expansion into its next phase.

The project has been in development for years, but utility lines still need to be relocated before all of the planned roadway improvements can be completed.

Assistant City Manager Melissa Reynolds says expanding the role of Pape-Dawson Engineers, which also handled the engineering and design of the project, should help the city coordinate that work and avoid unnecessary construction delays.

“This is an Alamo Area MPO project that has a requirement that we get this project out to construction in the 2027 calendar year, which ends September of 2027. That is a major complication with some of these timelines — given that we have a proposal from Pape-Dawson to help us execute a construction management program – (and) to help us manage the construction to ensure we don’t hit the utilities and we can do two things at one time with approval from TxDOT,” said Reynolds.

The goal is to allow utility relocation and road construction to proceed simultaneously, rather than waiting for one phase of work to be completed before beginning the next. Reynolds says the arrangement should also help the city keep the project on a more predictable construction schedule.

“It is a 30-month contract expectation, (and) that’s dependent (on several factors).  It also has some complications given whether or not utilities are or not relocated. As of right now, I can’t give you an accurate one because without utilities in the way, it’s 30 months, but we may not be starting until 2028. If we start when we want to start, which is next summer-ish, it might be a little bit longer to accommodate the utility relocation and we’ll have to reevaluate that with our design firm,” said Reynolds.

Seguin City Councilman Jim Lievens, who represents the area, says the progress on both Rudeloff Road and Cordova Road comes at an important time for the community. The northern portion of Seguin has experienced significant residential and commercial development, and Lievens says even more growth is on the way.

“The only thing constant in our life is change, and growth is part of that change. I would always say that all we can do is really manage that growth and I think we’re doing an excellent job of that. This roadway is just the first of multiple roads. Phase two, taking Rudeloff to (State Highway) 123 is about to start, (and) Cordova Road is about to start. And it goes beyond roadways. On the north side, we’re getting this fire station. I kept looking at Chief Herbert and looking across the road. I said, envision that new Fire Station No. 4 and the impact that it will have for the thousands of residents who have now moved up to that area. We’re getting a city park…so, I love how we’re managing the growth,” said Lievens.

New subdivisions, retail developments and other investments are continuing to transform the area, increasing the need for additional road capacity and other infrastructure improvements. Lievens says the city has done a good job managing many of the challenges associated with that growth, but he also believes Seguin should recognize the opportunities that come with its continued expansion.

“We need to go beyond managing the growth, by embracing it. And one reason I say that is because I’ve had people in my district, they complain about the traffic. And, I guess I complain about traffic. They’ll complain about this or that, all the things that we don’t like about the growth. I remember those great country roads along Rudeloff and Huber when my wife and I moved in 34 years ago to where we live, and that’s long gone. But I’m sitting here embracing this opportunity that this growth is presenting. We’re getting not only fire stations and parks, we’re getting restaurants, we’re getting retail. We no longer have to drive 15, 20, 25 minutes to go to our HEB. We’ll have other options close by. I think we need to embrace things like that,” said Lievens.

He says the community should look beyond the new roads, neighborhoods and businesses and consider the people who are choosing to make Seguin their home. Lievens believes welcoming those new residents and encouraging them to become part of the community are just as important as building the infrastructure needed to accommodate them.

“The most important thing to embrace is all the wonderful people that these new subdivisions are bringing to the Seguin community. And I just encourage everyone when you meet somebody from these new subdivisions, talk to them about Seguin, encourage them to come to our events, get them to downtown where there’s so many wonderful things going on. And I just think it’s going to make our community that much stronger. It’ll enrich the fabric of our life here in Seguin if we embrace our growth,” said Lievens.

Seguin continues to rank among the fastest-growing communities in Texas and the nation, with city officials estimating that approximately seven new residents move to the city each day. That growth continues to place additional demands on local roads and other public infrastructure.