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Laredo staff to tighten CIP priority list; waterline pipe‑bursting project and other utilities work planned
Summary
City engineering and utility staff presented a quarterly CIP report and a phased waterline replacement plan (trenchless "pipe bursting") and said they will bring a prioritized list of previously designed but unfunded projects to the June workshop.
Assistant City Manager Román Chavez and engineering staff updated the council on capital improvement program (CIP) projects and on a utilities project to replace waterlines using trenchless pipe‑bursting technology.
Chavez said the city has dozens of active CIP projects and quarterly reports that list design firms, contract amounts, construction status and funding sources. He told council that the administration will return in June with a more detailed CIP prioritization package and recommendations on which previously designed projects to advance. Several council members asked staff to identify projects that have design funding but no near‑term construction funding and to recommend whether to shelve or reassign those designs.
On utilities, staff outlined a $56‑million project set that includes phased waterline replacements and other utility upgrades. The utilities team said the pipe‑bursting waterline replacement contract has been executed for four major phases and that the contractor will provide a critical‑path schedule and neighborhood notification plan; staff committed to posting detailed phase schedules and QR‑code project links to the city website and to notify residents before work starts on their blocks.
Council members urged clearer public communication—door‑knocking and published start dates—so residents know when crews will be in their neighborhoods. Council also asked staff to publish a searchable public dashboard with maps and timelines for CIP and utility work.
Chavez said engineering and utilities will continue to refine cost estimates, identify unfunded gaps on projects where design is completed, and propose a shorter list of priority projects for potential funding in FY2025–26.
