HARLINGEN — The rising cost of asphalt is leading officials to scrap plans to pave a 1.6-mile stretch of Commerce Street.
Last year, city commissioners made the stretch of Commerce from Fair Park Boulevard to Tyler Avenue a priority for the city’s new $2.4 million street project.
On the 2021-2022 street list, officials have been planning to pave nearly eight miles of streets, or about 41,000 feet, Assistant City Manager Craig Cook said.
But the supply chain crisis has driven asphalt prices about 25 percent.
In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic’s economic slowdown led to production cuts in oil-based products such as asphalt, driving up demand while spurring rising costs.
Meanwhile, asphalt prices account for about a third of a street project’s overall cost, Cook said.
So as part of the city’s new $2.4 million street budget, officials factored in a 25-percent increase in asphalt prices, he said.
But the street project’s five construction bids came in high — ranging from $2.6 million to $3.6 million.
This year, the winning bid went to Foremost Paving, a Pharr company, which proposed a low bid of $2.6 million to pave the streets on the city’s list.
Push to pave Commerce stretch
After taking office in June, Commissioner Daniel Lopez had been planning to pave part of one of the city’s main thoroughfares winding from Fair Park Boulevard near the city’s police station across part of the old warehousing district to City Hall.
“Commerce — it’s one of our busiest streets in town,” he told commissioners during a meeting Wednesday.
During discussion, Lopez said he and Cook, who has estimated the 1.6-mile stretch would cost slightly less $400,000 to pave, were working to find money to fund the project.
“I already talked to Craig about figuring out different ways to finance it and hopefully we can get it done in 2023,” Lopez told commissioners. “The worst case scenario, if we can’t get it financed in 2023, it’ll be at the top of the list for 2024.”
Planning to reconstruct entire roadway
But City Engineer Luis Vargas recommended officials strike the stretch of Commerce from the project’s list.
Meanwhile, officials are waiting to find out if the city lands a grant aimed at funding the reconstruction of the entire roadway, he said.
But they might be waiting as long as five years to launch the project.
”I’m thinking about four or five years we would be able to start full reconstruction, and that means the whole right-of-way — sidewalks, utilities and, of course, pavement,” Vargas told commissioners.
For Lopez, the timetable is a long one.
“My concern about that is it’s one of our busiest streets and best case scenario is four or five years, you know,” he said.
Waiting for grant money
At City Hall, City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez is planning to use a new $5 million U.S. Transportation Department grant to redesign Commerce’s entire 3.4-mile stretch, funding preliminary engineering costs.
But the grant will not fund construction.
“The idea is to get it redesigned, completed and then use those plans to try to solicit funding for construction,” Gonzalez told commissioners during Wednesday’s meeting.
Gonzalez said officials are waiting for the state Transportation Department to determine whether it will help fund the construction project.
“Our position is we proceed with that — get it redesigned,” Gonzalez told commissioners. “That will probably take us to 2024.”
Meanwhile, city crews will continue maintaining the roadway, he said.
“We’re not going to abandon Commerce,” Gonzalez told commissioners. “We’re going to keep patching it, just trying to make sure that it maintains its integrity until we get it completely re-done.”
