Howardwick begins street paving work

A major street paving project is getting underway in Howardwick this week after years of planning and months of negotiations.

Howardwick City Hall said Tuesday that G&G Operators of Dalhart will begin work that will see about seven blocks of hot mix asphalt paving laid down on Rick Husband Boulevard from Dawn Drive, just past the country club, to Dana Drive near the entrance of McMorries Memorial Park.

The project will be a major milestone for the community and will address long-time problems with the city’s main thoroughfare.

“This is a big deal for Howardwick,” City Secretary Sandy Childress said. “It’s been long-awaited and hard fought for.”

The project was originally proposed in 2020 and would have paved Rick Husband beyond City Hall, but escalating costs caused the project to be whittled down. When G&G’s bid was first accepted in January of this year, the paving was only going to cover 800 feet from Dawn to Porter, about one block. Since then, city officials have negotiated and approved change orders to the project that allowed for a much greater distance to be covered.

“Basically, we found ways for the city to do more of the work,” Childress said. “We’re going to haul off all the old material, and we’re going to do the signage.”

The city also agreed to change the width of the road and will be taking care of tying the new paving into the intersecting streets.
A Community Development Block Grant is paying for most of the $219,499.50 project. The city will cover about $17,000 of that cost.

Childress on Tuesday was busy trying to notify residents of the coming work and the disruptions to travel in the city. Most affected residents have other ways to access Rick Husband. Folks who life on the Tyng Drive cul-de-sac are being notified of a temporary route across private property that will let them get to and from their homes.

The city was also looking into solutions for the school bus route so kids can still get picked up by Clarendon CISD.

Childress says the project is supposed to take 60 working days with the city hoping for an October 5, 2024, completion date.