The road work on a 0.3-mile stretch of a downtown street, mired for three years in construction and consternation, is wrapping up.
It could be said a celebration is planned.
The 2017 bond project to improve South Alamo Street is expected to be completed April 13, just ahead of one of Fiesta’s biggest annual events, A Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA).
South Alamo Street runs along the eastern edge of La Villita Historic Arts Village where NIOSA has been held since 1948. This year’s event kicks off April 21.
“We’re expecting an extra large crowd compared to what we’ve had the last couple years,” said DeAnna Keesee, NIOSA treasurer. “It’s going to be great weather and … the road construction’s going away.”
The large crowd could swell from last year’s 15,000 per night to more than 25,000, she said.
The goal of the South Alamo project was to overhaul a stretch of the roadway between Market Street and East César E. Chávez Boulevard, improving sidewalks and drainage and utility lines.
The work was planned to be finished within two years. But the $59 million project has been plagued by delays.
In 2024, a significant point of contention rose between the City of San Antonio and the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) over the responsibility for old water and sewer mains. The mains, in place for over a century, were slated for replacement as part of the reconstruction effort. But the city and SAWS deadlocked over which entity would pay to replace the mains.
A year ago, with the project still not yet finished before thousands were expected in San Antonio for the NCAA Men’s Final Four, the city paused work and temporarily paved the corridor for the sake of pedestrians and traffic.
Construction has continued since, with the prolonged road and sidewalk closures, dust and orange cones and barriers affecting local business owners who say they’ve lost customers and saw revenue dwindle.
In August, city officials created the new Capital Delivery Department to focus on new, large-scale projects such as the construction of streets, drainage, parks and city facilities, while Public Works maintains existing infrastructure. Michael Shannon was appointed director of the Capital Delivery Department.
The city reports that 98% of all 2017 bond projects are completed or under construction with three remaining in design: Probandt Street, Roosevelt Avenue and Brackenridge Park.
For 2022 bond projects, 60% of the total 187 projects are completed or under construction with 40% in the design phase.
Luis Maltos, assistant director of Capital Delivery, said that when his department took on the project, it was able to make “some big strides on South Alamo,” from improving communication with businesses in the area to hiring more contractors.
The city has held regular meetings with the hotel operators and with other stakeholders to update them on progress, he said.
In the coming days, crews will complete the concrete pavement work, activate the traffic signals at the intersections and install landscaping, including 167 trees: Monterrey oaks, Mexican sycamores, cedar elms and Mexican red oaks. Five crosswalks have been established.
Finished streets will make NIOSA planners happy as, in recent years, road closures made beer and food deliveries a challenge, Keesee said. The street work also had to be paused during the event.
In 1968, South Alamo served as the entrance to the world’s fair, HemisFair ‘68. Its next chapter, when it opens up again, is what Maltos described as an enhanced pedestrian corridor.
