By Steve Knight The Herald-Zeitung | Updated
New Braunfels Utilities crews will begin replacing and upgrading aging and undersized infrastructure on the east and west sides of New Braunfels this month.
The Castell Avenue waterline project will provide an additional 24-inch transmission main needed to send water from downtown New Braunfels to the county line ground storage tank and surrounding areas and replace aging water and sewer lines.
The project was separated into two bid packages with two different contractors performing the work.
The project that extends from San Antonio Street and Castell Avenue to the intersection of Torrey Street and Elizabeth Avenue is called “Castell Ave 24-inch Water Line WEST” and will begin this month.
The portion of the project that extends from San Antonio Street and Castell Avenue down to the I-35 frontage road is called “Castell Avenue 24-inch Water Line EAST” and will begin in June. The east and west projects consist of installing more than 10,000 linear feet of 24-inch water main, 5,200 linear feet of 12-inch water main and 6,600 linear feet of eight-inch and 16-inch sewer lines.
“The 24-inch transmission main is needed to send water from downtown New Braunfels to the county line ground storage tank and surrounding areas to support current and future growth,” said Melissa Krause, NBU’s chief communications and strategy officer. “This additional transmission capacity will enable more efficient operation of the County Line Pump Station that feeds the Morningside Pressure Zone. The water line along Castell Avenue, between San Antonio Street and Nacogdoches, also has frequent water main breaks and has reached the end of its service life based on age, condition and material.”
This project will increase reliability to NBU customers and decrease maintenance costs for repairing main breaks and leaks, Krause said.
The majority of the pipeline included in the project will be installed by an open-cut or open-trench method.
There are a few locations where the installation method will be trenchless: at San Antonio Street, all Union Pacific Railroad crossings, all Texas Department of Transportation crossings and all water crossings at the Comal River and Comal Creek.
According to NBU officials, construction along Castell Avenue, from Bridge to Elm Street, will have two-way traffic open to minimize disruption to businesses downtown. In addition, no weekend work will be allowed in the downtown areas, and sidewalks will remain available for pedestrian traffic to the greatest extent possible.
From San Antonio Street to Coll Street, most of the utility installation will occur during the nighttime hours.
Service connections from the water and sewer mains to each business will be completed between Monday and Thursday from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. to minimize impacts of service outages.
Crews from Spiess Construction Company will begin installing the bore pits and 42-inch Steel Casing installation at the intersection of San Antonio Street and Castell Avenue on Tuesday. As a result, daily road closures are expected to occur.
The Castell Avenue 24-inch water line projects are part of NBU’s more than 122 capital improvement projects for fiscal years 2021 through 2025. NBU has budgeted $14.7 million to upgrade the existing water and sewer infrastructure to ensure regulatory compliance, provide essential services and serve future growth.
NBU officials anticipate completion of the project in December 2022
The utility will provide updates on this project’s progress on its social media channels and nbutexas.com.
Contact Desirae Medellin at 830-608-8971 or dmedellin@nbutexas.com for any questions regarding the project.
