City public hearing upcoming for Texas Street waterline project

After completing a replacement project for the Texas Street waterline in September 2023, the city of Graham will hold a public hearing next week for citizens to voice their thoughts regarding the construction phase.

The public hearing will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8 at Graham City Hall at 608 Elm St. The project was funded partially through the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) Community Block Grant program.

The Graham City Council in October 2020 approved a resolution to allow a grant management firm to forward the grant application to TDA. The city was approved for the grant in 2021 and the total cost of the project was estimated to be $608,000, $350,000 of which would be covered by the grant.

A bid for the project from Bowles Construction along with a budget increase of $85,000 was approved by the council in December 2022. The base bid included the replacement of approximately 4,300 linear feet of 6-inch waterline, fire hydrants, service reconnects, bores, water line connections, valves and pavement repair.

The vendor bid exceeded the TDA budget estimate and required additional funding from the city in the amount of $84,305 which was provided through the city water reserve fund.

At the conclusion of the project, the city of Graham committed $363,736 in matching funding along with an additional $105,376 in additional funding to cover the overage of the construction contract and potential change orders.

Graham Public Works Director Randall Dawson said in 2021 that the water line for Texas Street was chosen due to its condition. The existing water line was a cast iron line that was placed in 1942.

The new replaced water line will increase the available flow for better fire protection, reduce water loss from leaks and replace the existing deteriorating line.