“Schedule was one of the big factors in going design build for this project. They City of San Antonio traditionally utilized design-bid-build delivery method. This would have added a year or more to the completion of the project. The city also recognizes this is a high visibility project with a lot of stakeholders and wanted to get some construction expertise during the design process that would drive efficiency for the budget and schedule,” says Jeff Webster, vice president, Sundt Construction – Texas District.

The Hausman Road project is also the largest single road project approved by the voters in the 2012 San Antonio Bond election, and will incorporate funding from Bexar County.

“Hausman Road was identified as a potential key infrastructure road project going back to the 2007 Bond program. In 2012, the City of San Antonio approved over $500 million in bond projects,” Webster says. “Previously, in 2007, $500 million was approved.”

The early phases of construction will begin this fall and the project is scheduled for completion by the summer of 2015.

Work will involve turning the currently two-lane Hausman Road into a four-lane road divided by a median from Loop 1604 to IH-10. The project will include five bridges, adding left turn lanes, curbs, driveway approaches, drainage improvements, traffic signals, flood control measures, water quality systems in compliance with Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone requirements, and utility upgrades throughout the corridor. Sidewalks, bike lanes, and hike and bike trails will also be included throughout the project.

“ROW is part of our scope in our design-build contract – this is always a challenge due to the condemnation process,” Webster says. “This is a fairly congested corridor in terms of utilities so utility coordination will be a significant challenge. We plan on utilizing BIM and machine control technology to help address these challenges.”

Webster adds that the Hausman Road Projects has many stakeholders with vested interest in the process, design and construction, such as the $500 million Bexar County Flood Program, two projects of which have been turned over to the city to be included in the Hausman Road project.

“Many local utilities will also be directly involved with redesign, relocation and construction,” Webster says. “Coordination of many partners and stakeholders is complex, so Sundt will have a integrated project office for the project. All the key owners, designers and subcontractors, everyone will be co-located on the site.”