El Paso awards $17.56 million resurfacing contract after debate over prior contractor performance

El Paso City Council on Dec. 16 approved a $17,557,570 contract with ZTex Construction to perform citywide milling, paving and related concrete work over a 730‑day term, after a lengthy discussion about past performance and contract oversight.

Randy Garcia, director of Streets and Maintenance, told the council the procurement will support the city’s resurfacing program and is funded by a combination of PAYGO and Community Progress Bond accounts. "This involves milling, paving, and any other concrete structures that are necessary within the right of way," he said, describing the scope of work.

Several council members pressed for answers about ZTex’s record on a prior 2022 contract, which staff said was completed at about a 63% completion rate. "This contract is big. It's for 730 consecutive days. It's 17 and a half million dollars," Representative Chavez said, adding that the city must be confident the work will be completed.

Claudia Garcia of Purchasing said the evaluation committee scored proposals based on the written submissions and vendor performance records available in the city’s procurement system. "The committee evaluated the information they submitted in writing. We also checked our records for past performance," she said. Purchasing staff and Streets & Maintenance described steps to strengthen oversight, including more detailed vendor performance reporting, weekly project coordination, and embedding project managers from CID into contract administration.

Council members sought specific commitments on schedules, inspection, remedies for underperformance and transparency about which streets would be completed. Staff said the contract will be executed within several weeks if approved, that existing contracts will continue while new work ramps up, and that task orders will set deadlines for each street sequence.

After debate, the council voted 6–2 to award the contract; Representatives Chavez and Acevedo voted nay. Council direction requires staff to document schedules and vendor performance and to provide regular updates to the council on progress and benchmarks.

The contract’s initial work list will focus on residential resurfacing tied to the community progress bond; arterial resurfacing is handled through separate contracts. If the contractor meets documentation and schedule requirements, Streets & Maintenance said it expects to accelerate installations and reduce the backlog of pending resurfacing requests.