Seven Highland Village Streets Are Getting New Pavement, and the City Is Borrowing $10.75M for Water and Sewer

If your street is named Meadowbrook, Oak, Cedar, Redwood, Merriman, Ferndale, or Gayle Lane, your road is about to get smoother — and you probably already noticed the water line work that came first.

At its Monday, Oct. 14 meeting, Highland Village City Council approved and awarded the contract for Phase 3 of the 2022 Street Improvements Project, the final phase of a three-phase street improvement program. Based on the city's pavement evaluation program, Phase 3 covers Meadowbrook Drive, Oak Street, Cedar Drive, Redwood Drive, Merriman Drive, Ferndale Drive, and Gayle Lane. Seven streets. One contract. One phase left to close out a program that started several years ago.

The city already completed water main replacements and drainage improvements in preparation for roadway reconstruction. Next comes reclaiming the existing roadway base and installing a new asphalt surface to improve pavement conditions and extend roadway life. Phases 1 and 2 wrapped up in 2024, so Phase 3 residents have had a front-row view of the earlier rounds finishing. Their turn is here.

The same meeting brought a separate, bigger move on the utility side. Council approved a Notice of Intent to issue Certificates of Obligation in an amount not to exceed $10.75 million to fund water and wastewater infrastructure improvements. That notice is the required first public step before a formal bond vote can happen. Proposed projects include water and sewer line replacements, installation of new waterlines along Brooks Court and in the northwest section of the city, reconstruction of the Lake Vista Well to increase capacity to one million gallons per day, replacement of the Copperas Branch Lift Station, and lift station generator upgrades.

The Brooks Court and northwest waterline work has background worth knowing. Brooks Court and Pilot Knoll Park are not currently served by the city's water system — that part of the city was separated from the rest by Lake Lewisville until FM 2499 was constructed. Extending city water service there has been in the capital improvement plan queue for a while. This bond is how it gets funded.

The need at Copperas Branch is well-documented. The Copperas Branch Lake Lift Station has always served as the final lift station to collect and pump the city's wastewater flows to the reclamation plant. Constructed over 30 years ago, it is due for replacement because of age and deteriorating condition.

Certificates of Obligation are a financing tool the city has historically used for utility infrastructure projects. The proposed issuance supports the city's ongoing five-year capital improvement plan and will be funded through utility revenues. That last part matters: this debt gets repaid through water and sewer bills, not property taxes.

If you live on one of the seven Phase 3 streets, expect construction activity and plan for lane closures — the city has previously sent letters to affected residents ahead of similar projects. If you are a Highland Village utility customer, the $10.75 million Notice of Intent is now in its public notification period, and Council still needs to hold a formal vote to actually issue the debt. Check highlandvillage.org for the bond vote timeline.