Pflugerville City Council approved nearly $234,000 in road infrastructure improvements for the city’s Historic Colored Addition at council’s Feb. 11 meeting, awarding the professional engineering services contract to Halff Associates Inc. Streets designated for improvement efforts in the Historic Colored Addition include Russell Street, Caldwells Lane, Taylor Street and Lincoln Avenue, per city documents.

Per city documents, the agreement between Halff Associates and the city includes design services that comprise a set of Plans, Specifications and Estimates, or PS&E, for infrastructural upgrades to streets, drainage and utilities; field surveying; preliminary design; and utility engineering, among others. Design costs for public infrastructure were also included in Pflugerville’s fiscal year 2019-20 budget.

The Historic Colored Addition is a piece of city property designated for black workers in Travis County in the early 1900s who were not allowed to live within city limits due to their race. St. Mary’s Baptist Church was built in 1910, according to the Texas State Historical Association, and included a cemetery for the burial of black and Latino residents. The property currently includes several homes, a church and cemeteries.

Halff Associates previously prepared an infrastructure and land use study for the city in April, which also cited areas of recommended improvements within the neighborhood. The study was formally adopted by council at its April 9 meeting. Additional infrastructural improvements have also been included for consideration in the city’s proposed May 2020 transportation and parks bond election.