We are pleased to report that the Cibolo Parkway Project is moving forward, and would like to update you on its progress.
Since 2017, Cibolo Turnpike, L.P. has invested more than $8 million in developing this project as the City of Cibolo’s partner. In January 2018, the City was presented with the findings of project feasibility study. This report outlined the favorable alternatives for financing the project. In March 2019 Cibolo Turnpike continues to work with several firms to develop the project, including several that are regularly involved in highway development for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
Stantec, the traffic engineering firm for the Cibolo Parkway Project, represents TxDOT on the Central Texas toll road system in and around Austin, as well as with the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. Stantec is also the predominant traffic engineering firm used by dozens of large governmental entities nationally relating to future traffic forecasts.
The environmental consultant for the Cibolo Parkway Project, aci consulting, is currently is conducting the environmental surveys on those tracts where temporary right-of-entry (ROE) agreements were agreed upon and executed. Of the fifty-two parcels (52) needed for the Right-Of-Way, thirty-eight (38) have signed ROE’s, which amounts to seventy-three percent (73%) of the ownership and eighty-one percent (81%) of the land required. Those numbers are without the parcel owned by homebuilder DR Horton, who is still working on the ROE language required by their corporate officials. These ROE agreements include a “negotiation to purchase” clause clearly stating the property owner is willing to negotiate the sale of their land.
Soil sampling and analysis has been completed on numerous ROW sites and those results are being used to finalize the geotechnical study. Additionally, aci consulting is conducting Phase I environmental site assessments on parcels in the ROW to detect hidden hazardous materials or other environmental conditions. The first draft of environmental tech memos has been submitted, and the draft environmental assessment is expected to be completed in the coming months.
The contract for the project’s future construction manager/general contractor is being reviewed and finalized. As part of the process to competitively choose a qualified firm to construct the project, Cibolo Turnpike will publish a notice in the Seguin Gazette newspaper in the near future seeking bids from interested contractors.
The current design of the Cibolo Parkway Project conforms to TxDOT standards and accommodates the projected traffic needs of the community at an “A” level of service for the next twenty years.
An initial design featuring a two-lane, divided road with concrete driving surfaces and a concrete barrier was reached following meetings with the Enhancement Subcommittee that occurred between May 2018 and July 2018. This roadway will be expandable to four lanes in the future if usage increases sufficiently to require it. Traffic studies suggest the project will likely need to be expanded from a two-lane divided road to a four-lane divided road in about 2038.
The bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad track is designed with four lanes while other bridges on the project are designed as two lanes with the capability of widening them to the outside in the future. TxDOT regularly uses the latter option in order to avoid closing bridges or restrict them to one lane of traffic like what is currently occurring at Interstate 35 and FM 1103.
Cibolo Turnpike is currently in working with Citigroup to determine the most advantageous financial arrangement to fund the project. Citigroup has experience with financing infrastructure projects nationwide and bring a wealth of experience to the project, specifically in the area of toll road financing.
