After a few weeks of peace and quiet, construction crews returned last week and this week to replace two more driveway aprons in Burleson Heights and dozens of feet of curbs. A third location on Catalina also had old concrete replaced.

That’s almost the last of the street/drainage/water project in our neighborhood. The contractor has completed everything on its punch list, items that were identified during an inspection by engineers and city staffers last month. Just a fraction of the original budget for the project was left, which covered the cost of the repairs for some last sections of concrete that were deemed to be damaged or that were causing cars to scrape on their driveways.

All that remains of the project is the installation of one last section of storm drain at the bottom of the hill on Ware Road. The city is still negotiating to acquire land for an easement that will allow it to install 78 feet of pipe, which will allow the new storm drain installed under Ware Road to drain directly into Country Club Creek.

Owned by the California-based company that owns Douglas Landing Apartments, the property had several liens on it, and a few still remain. If necessary, the city will condemn the property to gain the easement, but for now it is waiting until the liens are cleared.

Once the city can create an easement, the work to install the remaining storm drain section is expected to take just a couple of days, says Rick Colbrunn, project manager in the Public Works Dept.

At that point the entire project will be considered accepted by the city (possibly back-dated to this week or next), and the project will go into a one-year warranty period during which the contractor will be responsible for any past damage to private property or flaws that become evident. So hold onto the contact information below in case you see any repairs needed to your property or the street.

Creek project
It still hasn’t rained! Revegetation along the banks of the creek near our neighborhood can’t begin until moisture is available for plants, so Public Works is still in a holding pattern. More info to come.

Contact info
Colbrunn is our city contact, but if you have damage to personal property, you should go through the contractor and file a claim.

Rick Colbrunn, city’s project manager
City of Austin Public Works
rick.colbrunn@ci.austin.tx.us
974-7089

Dale Deeten, contractor’s project manager
Aaron Concrete
Dale@aaronconcrete.com
926-7326, ext. 307