Sacyr Construction USA LLC said it is nearing completion of the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) $25.69 million 19th Street project in Lubbock, which is designed to improve safety and mobility along one of the municipality's most-traveled corridors.

Sacyr began construction on June 23, 2022, to upgrade 3.3 mi. of the east-west U.S. 62 (State Highway 114/19th Street). The project is financed with state funds.

Over the last few months, crews completed sidewalks, lighting and signal installations.

"Work continues on getting the traffic signals operational," Dianah Coronado, a spokesperson of TxDOT's Lubbock District, told Construction Equipment Guide. "The northeast corner sidewalk of 19th Street and Avenue Q still needs to be placed once signal wiring work is completed."

Sacyr Construction rebuilt and resurfaced 3 mi. on the road, which has two lanes in each direction. The contractor also updated the drainage system, rebuilt sidewalks, installed traffic signals and lighting and built a shared-use path for cyclists and pedestrians. The work zone extended from Memphis Avenue to just east of Interstate 27.

"This is a major undertaking — 19th Street is one of the city's busiest roadways for both vehicle and pedestrian traffic," said Michael Wittie, TxDOT's Lubbock area engineer at the time. "Our goal is to make sure we get the work done in the safest and most-efficient way possible, while keeping pedestrians and motorists safe and traffic flowing."

Joe Villalobos, TxDOT's project manager and current Lubbock area engineer, described the state of the road to Construction Equipment Guide,

"Pavement stress and fatigue caused the roadway to have a rough ride," he said. "The pavement needed to be replaced, along with sidewalks and upgrades of lighting and traffic signals. This also followed with the beautification of the downtown area. The concerns addressed were old lighting not illuminating the roadway appropriately, along with flooding concerns. These were addressed with new lighting and an upgraded storm drainage system."

The Lubbock District began working on environmental clearances in 2018. The project accepted bids in January 2022, and construction began in June 2022.

Design Challenges

American Structurepoint Inc. designed the project.

"Design challenges included traffic management in a local/city environment with high traffic and pedestrian volume," Villalobos said. "Underground work in an old part of Lubbock with unknown underground utilities also posed a challenge. The roadway lifespan should be 10 to 15 years, depending on how well the roadway is maintained. Concrete pavement and concrete sidewalk area lifespans are typically 30-plus years."

"The contract is near completion," Villalobos said. "Many challenges were faced, but the partnership between the contractor, TxDOT and the city allowed for successful completion of the project."

The project has faced challenges, such as maintaining traffic.

"The proper traffic control design was implemented and treated as fluid," Hector Martin, Sacyr Construction's project manager, said to Construction Equipment Guide. "As new challenges arose, actions were taken."

Dealing with old infrastructure was another challenge.

"As with many urban infrastructure projects, the primary challenge was navigating existing underground utilities, many of which were very old and with limited information about them," Martin said. "In addition, careful phasing of the work to minimize disruption to the public, along with effective traffic management, was essential. Ensuring that all construction activities could be conducted safely — both for the public and for our crews — was a fundamental component of our overall planning approach.

"Numerous conflicts with existing utilities were encountered throughout the project," he added. "A critical factor in overcoming these challenges was the collaborative effort between TxDOT and Sacyr, which led to the implementation of a comprehensive utilities investigation campaign. Through this initiative, most utilities were safely exposed and accurately surveyed, significantly reducing the likelihood of unforeseen conflicts and minimizing the potential for additional delays. Once these challenges were addressed, the project advanced smoothly and with consistent progress."

Most of the major work consisted of day operations, but crews did work at night when needed to minimize traffic impacts.

Communications Key

"This sort of project in a downtown setting requires open lines of communication, and stakeholder involvement is key," Martin said. "This was the case with this project and could not have been completed without the collaboration of all parties. TxDOT and Sacyr collaborated effectively to identify, address and resolve project challenges."

The project began and completed work on 19th Street between University and Memphis avenues before moving to I-27 and working west to University Avenue. University to Memphis was a 1-mi. segment. I-27 to University was a 2-mi. segment.

"In early 2024, the project phasing was revised to optimize the various traffic management stages," Martin said. "This update prioritized the required water line diversions and other critical underground works, ensuring a more efficient and coordinated construction sequence to minimize disruption to the public. The new road structure was designed by engineers after evaluation of the existing conditions of the pavement. The project had a mix of full-depth pavement repairs along with partial-depth pavement repairs where some of the old pavement structure was reused."

Varied Equipment

Equipment operators used excavators, including Case and Cat models, ranging from small to large for utility work, as well as skid steers, vibrator packers, asphalt spreaders, asphalt shuttle buggies, rollers, cranes and drilling equipment to drill shafts for pole bases. The concrete pavement equipment included a Cat slipform paver, an Astec placer and a cure and texture machine.

The lighting and signal installation elements occurred simultaneously.

"This project entailed all new underground infrastructure for drainage, water and electrical that tied into the existing infrastructure outside the project limits," Martin said. "To improve the project schedule and reduce risk, different teams and subcontractors were used to complete all this scope. The lighting and signal infrastructure is brand new and ties into the existing city infrastructure that is remotely controlled by the city of Lubbock."

Martin noted that all of the earth excavated is being reused as embankment works on this project and others in the municipality.

Asphalt also was reused.

"Approximately 7,000 tons of milled asphalt material were reused into a new hot mix," Martin said.

Peak days had several Sacyr crews and subcontractor personnel on site.

Sacyr's onsite mechanics dealt with daily wear and tear issues.

"The keys to good maintenance on a project like this," said Martin, "include daily pre- and post-inspection on all equipment; reporting damage or issues immediately — letting issues fester cause more damage; cleaning and greasing machines regularly; ensuring the maintenance schedule outlined in the owner's manual is being followed; and ensuring equipment is being used as designed and outlined in the owner's manual — using the right piece of equipment for the job."

Sacyr buys equipment from local and regional dealerships with which it has longstanding relationships.