Bedford staff outline progress, timelines for major street and utility projects

City engineer and acting public works director Joe Schweitzer gave an update Tuesday on the status of Bedford's fiscal-year 2024–25 street and utility projects, reporting completed utility phases, recent paving, and timelines for upcoming construction that will affect traffic and local businesses.

Schweitzer said the West Pipeline Road utility work was completed last fall and “the total funds was just over $5,000,000,” while the adjacent road construction is being completed by the city of Euless. He told the board traffic on that corridor is scheduled to switch to newly paved lanes the day after the meeting, reopening connections to residential streets.

Schweitzer described the Deuce Drive work as a combined utility-and-paving project that converted from asphalt to concrete; he said the Street Improvement Economic Development Corporation (4B) portion of that work covered about $621,000 and that “this is a newly concreted road.” He said concrete should extend the street’s service life.

The board heard that several neighborhood utility projects completed last fall will be left to settle for roughly a year before final pavement sections are installed. Schweitzer said that approach reduces the chance the city would need to return to repair pavement that settles after large underground trenching and utility replacement.

Parkwood Drive remains in progress, with Schweitzer estimating about 80% of paving and utilities complete. He said crews are resolving utility tie-in and pole-relocation sequencing before completing final sidewalks and patches and that the work should finish within the next couple of months, weather permitting.

On Harwood Road, Schweitzer said the Martin–Harwood waterline replacement will target a section that has generated repeated water main breaks. “This section of Harwood itself is one of our hot spots,” he said, adding the city will install additional isolation valves so future outages will affect fewer customers. He explained that much of the existing pipe dates to the late 1970s or earlier.

Schweitzer said the Brown Trail bond project remains in design and engineering with construction expected in just over a year; he estimated completion as roughly a year to 18 months after construction begins. He said the city and county have executed interlocal agreements for portions of the bond-funded work and that the city has coordinated alternative design options to preserve single-family accesses where possible.

Other active or planned projects discussed included Phillips Street (a CDBG-funded project managed by Tarrant County), Gregory and Bedford Court additions (awaiting Atmos gas-line relocation), Rankin Drive (contingent on the city’s master drainage plan due in late May), and pavement-preservation treatments including mill-and-overlay and a high-density mineral bond treatment the city uses to extend pavement life.

Schweitzer also reviewed maintenance-mode overlays to be completed with county crews (a cost-saving interlocal process) and contractor-led mill-and-overlay work on other neighborhoods. He described “rural roads” projects—streets without curb and gutter—that will be upgraded and noted the Canterbury addition was selected for a mill-and-overlay based on pavement-condition scores.

On pedestrian infrastructure, staff said the city is addressing recorded sidewalk work orders and that costs for new sidewalk sections can range widely; Schweitzer cited $15,000–$25,000 per lot for some retrofit work and warned that slopes, property lines and required driveway rebuilding can increase costs substantially.

Traffic signals and signs were the final construction topic. Schweitzer said the city will maintain a new signal near the proposed grocery retailer on Cheek’s (Cheeksbarger) Parkway and is coordinating timing and phasing with TxDOT and the North Tarrant Express. On signage, staff reported 6,700 total traffic signs in inventory, roughly 984 stop signs, and an annual replacement budget of about $8,500; individual sign replacements range from about $35–$65 for the sign alone, with posts and foundations costing roughly twice that amount.

The presentation concluded with staff noting dependencies that remain: county or TxDOT approvals for some work, Atmos gas-line relocations on others, and design and master-plan deliverables that will affect the timing and scope of future pavements and drainage work.

Ending: Board members thanked staff for the update and asked that the staff continue to publish project maps and status on the city’s public works/CIP web pages.