TxDOT says 19th Street construction moving along in Lubbock, asks for patience

The Texas Department of Transportation is continuing work along several portions of 19th Street in Lubbock. While there's no updated timeline for an end to the lane closures, TxDOT offered its assurance that crews are working as quickly as weather permits to move the project along.

Dianah Ascencio, public information officer for TxDOT in Lubbock, said work continues at a steady pace for two segments of 19th Street, which runs concurrently with State Highway 114 and U.S. Highway 62. Ascencio said a section of the street undergoing renovations near Texas Tech and Covenant Medical Center — Memphis Avenue to University Avenue — are moving along as scheduled. Work on the nearly $26 million project began over the summer and was initially projected to take three years to complete, with the work moving in phases.

Ascencio said repairs to the subgrade (bottom layer of the road) on the westbound lanes of the street have been completed and drainage work is ongoing. Once drainage work is completed, the contractor will lay hot-mix asphalt, which Ascencio said is undergoing design approval now.

"When that does happen, as long as temperatures stay relatively warm, which means about 40 degrees and rising, our contractor will be able to place the asphalt," Ascencio said.

Once the westbound lanes are repaved, traffic will be moved onto the new pavement and work will commence on the eastbound lanes. Repairs to that half of the street will not be as extensive, Ascencio said.

"We will mill off about two inches of the top layer of the portion of 19th Street that traffic is on currently, but there's a difference: We're not going to do as in-depth of work as what we've done on this first portion," Ascencio said. "We are going to mill the two inches off and then we are going to open the road back up to traffic."

But with that said, there may be other short-term lane closures as crews make some deeper repairs just to spots of 19th Street," Ascencio added. "Then in late spring or early summer, our crews will come back and they'll place the final surface on that portion of a 19th street and restripe."

Ascencio said rain and weather has not been much of a factor contributing to any delays on that project so far and hopes temperatures stay mild so the hot asphalt can be poured.

Elsewhere along 19th Street near the Depot District, work continues to install a City of Lubbock water line before pavement repairs can move forward. Traffic in that section remains confined to one lane. Ascencio says the project has hit a few bumps and is moving a little slower than anticipated.

"It has been slow going having to work around known utilities, and then we've come across some utilities that we didn't know were down there," Ascencio said. "But we are getting close to getting that water line completed, and the next portion of that project will be to mill out the existing roadway and make repairs to some of the subgrades, similar to what we did (near Tech)."

Ascencio could not offer an updated timeline for completion of this portion of the road.

When major events bring higher-than-normal traffic to construction zones — like the Carol of Lights Friday night at Texas Tech — Ascencio says patience is appreciated and alternate routes preferred.

"We thank (drivers) for their patience and then we for them to be to continue to be patient," Ascencio said. "If they can find an alternative route to get to campus for the rest of the semester and for for the Carol of Lights event on Friday, then that's probably the best thing to do. Just find an alternative route and maybe take another road other than 19th Street."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: TxDOT19th Street construction moving along in Lubbock