The city has added $10 million to contracts for two road work projects that for several years have tied up traffic and disrupted business in downtown San Antonio.
At a recent city council meeting, the members unanimously supported amending a $50 million contract with Sundt Construction for charges related to the South Alamo Street project, increasing it by $7.6 million.
The council also voted to add another $2.7 million to a contract with Sundt for work on roadways in the Zona Cultural District, which includes Commerce, San Saba and Santa Rosa streets, with roads between. The original contract was valued at $37.7 million.
Voters approved the South Alamo project in the 2017 Bond Program, which authorized $9 million to overhaul a stretch of South Alamo Street from Market Street to East César E. Chávez Boulevard, improve sidewalks and drainage and upgrade utility lines.
When work started in 2021, following nearly a decade of delays, the project’s price tag was estimated at $36.6 million. To date, the project has cost about $48 million and been plagued by even more delays.
Delays and pauses
In 2024, a conflict arose between the City and the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) over old water and sewer mains. The century-old systems were slated for replacement as part of the project, but came to a deadlock over which entity would pay for it.
The dispute led to the city and SAWS signing a new agreement in January that will govern how the agencies work together on joint construction efforts going forward.
In March, crews paused the work and installed temporary paving to make the streets ready to host the Final Four.
South Alamo is a major thoroughfare that sits between Hemisfair and La Villita and connects the center city and Alamo Plaza to Southtown and the historic neighborhoods of Lavaca and King William. It’s also at the western edge of the proposed sports and entertainment district known as Project Marvel.
Construction is expected to be completed in spring 2026.
‘Hold your breath’
In the case of the Zona Cultural streets, an area where significant redevelopment has occurred in recent years, the project has also been delayed by unforeseen utility conflicts, according to city documents.
Those conflicts have resulted in more work for the engineers and the need for more materials, driving up the total cost of the project. Added archeological constraints have also changed the scope since the project began.
Also underway in the area is a major project by private developer Weston Urban to transform the former Continental Hotel into extended-stay suites, build a 250-unit, affordable multi-family housing project and redevelop the Arana building.
The road project began in January 2022 and is expected to be completed this fall.
At the council meeting on Thursday, District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur thanked the city’s Public Works department for pushing the projects across the finish line.
“They’re almost done, so everyone, hold your breath,” Kaur said. “Zona Cultural is going to be done in September of this year, and South Alamo is going to be completed in April of next year, and we are going to get there.”
She also said the city would learn from their mistakes “and not make them ever again.”
Her office is hosting a community meeting on June 24 to provide updates on the South Alamo project. The meeting will start at 4:30 p.m. at Hola!, 6035 S. Alamo St.
