Heritage Trail West construction in Round Rock will resume in 2023

Round Rock officials took the first step in the process to rebid the Heritage Trail West project following bankruptcy of the original contractor.

The Heritage Trail West project is funded by a 2013 bond and will connect the approximately 1-mile span between Chisholm Trail Road and North Mays Street along Brushy Creek. City Council approved a resolution to rebid the project through a sealed proposal at an Aug. 25 meeting.

Parks and Recreation Director Rick Atkins said the sealed proposal method will allow the city to select its next contractor for the project based on experience, financials and company history, among other factors.In February, Atkins told City Council that the original contractor, Pflugerville-based Ritter, Botkin Prime Construction Co., filed for bankruptcy in late 2021.

The city originally awarded the $7.3 million contract to Ritter, Botkin Prime Construction Co. in June 2020, and construction began on the trail segment in January 2021. At the Aug. 25 council meeting, Atkins said the rebidding guidelines will require the new contractor to take over liability for the trail upgrade project, which he said is already about 20%-25% complete.

Halff Associates Inc. is engaged in an engineering contract to survey the existing project and determine its status, Atkins said during an Aug. 23 preparation meeting.

“If we thought we really could just say, ‘Hey, here’s a lot of money. Go do this. Just give us a project,’ and walk away from it, we would do that,” Atkins said. “But I think with just the way that prices have gone, we’ve got to be able to look at the pricing that we’re going to have.”

Atkins said the goal is to rebid the project by the end of the year with work starting after Jan. 1.

In September 2021, the city contracted with artist Antonio Munoz to create up to 10 bronze statues to complement the trail improvement project. City estimates state the statues will come in phases and be complete by 2026.