City Moves Forward with Two Big Projects for Downtown

SAN ANGELO, TX — The City of San Angelo City Council voted unanimously to move forward with two projects that will improve accessibility and the aesthetics of historic downtown.

The first project is the construction of a gateway to downtown at the intersection of W. Concho Ave. and Koenigheim St. Koenigheim is also the northbound lane of U.S. 87 and U.S 277. The plan will widen Concho Ave. at that intersection by 15 feet and add a right-turn lane for safer access to the major north-south artery through the city.

City Engineer Russell Pehl briefed the council on the $1.347 million project that will extend along W. Concho Ave. from Koenigheim to Randolph St. where the YMCA is. It includes meandering sidewalks to match the existing river walk motif, new water line mains, relocating a fire hydrant, and landscaping.

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Above: Looking east, across Koenigheim St., down W. Concho Ave. where significant improvements will begin shortly. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)

The project will be financed in part with $397,700 in TxDOT funds that were obtained through federal programs. The requirements for procuring the state funding was that council vote to approve what is called an Advanced Funding Agreement with TxDOT. The project is part of the City’s Capital Improvement Plan, or CIP. Council approved it 7-0. The Requests for Proposals (RFP) process for the project will begin shortly.

Further down W. Concho Ave., it intersects the old north-south artery through historic downtown. There, the former $20 million Chadbourne Street Corridor project received a modification and a haircut at Tuesday’s meeting. When the City originally approved the Chadbourne project, a variety of funds were thought to be available.

Some of the funding is not there, primarily $4 million the City thought it could acquire from the San Angelo Metropolitan Planning Organization, and less than half of the anticipated TxDOT funding was granted. Assistant City Manager Rick Weise proposed breaking the Chadbourne Corridor project into three trimmed-down phases in order to afford it.

Mayor Brenda Gunter previously told us that a primary goal for the Chadbourne Street Project should be installing lower street lights and removing the power lines that crisscross San Angelo’s former main artery. Years ago, Chadbourne, not Koenigheim/Abe Streets, was the path of U.S. 87 through town. The streetlights built then were required to be taller, and they still exist today.

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Above: A tall streetlight near the intersection of Concho Ave. on Chadborune St. Mayor Gunter wants these light poles lowered. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)

Weise proposed a three-phase plan, with the first phase being revitalizing Chadbourne St. from the Concho River north to Beauregard Avenue. Phase “A,” he said, will cost $7.8 million, but $1.96 million will come from a TxDOT grant.

Weiss has a preliminary draft of the corridor improvements, but the mayor was adamant the final plan incorporate removing the crisscross of overhead power lines and lowering the street lights, placing them on more “historical” themed poles.

[[{"fid":"40781","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Looking north on Chadbourne St. from Concho Ave. on May 1, 2018. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Looking north on Chadbourne St. from Concho Ave. on May 1, 2018. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"2":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Looking north on Chadbourne St. from Concho Ave. on May 1, 2018. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Looking north on Chadbourne St. from Concho Ave. on May 1, 2018. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)"}},"attributes":{"alt":"Looking north on Chadbourne St. from Concho Ave. on May 1, 2018. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)","title":"Looking north on Chadbourne St. from Concho Ave. on May 1, 2018. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)","class":"media-element file-default","data-delta":"2"}}]]
Above: Looking north on Chadbourne St. from Concho Ave. on May 1, 2018. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)

Phase B will improve Chadbourne St. from Beauregard to the Houston Harte Expressway, and Phase C improves Chadbourne from Washington St. to the Concho River. The two remaining phases now have a combined programmed budget of $3.3 million, according to the council information packet.

With a unanimous vote of approval from council, Phase A goes into the final design and planning phase and is expected to be built by July 2020.