East DFW News

Lewisville officials say the Main & Mill corridor project is set to be completed by September, though the cost of the project has gone up by $394,324. 

The price hike comes amid the Lewisville City Council's endorsement of a change order discussed at its April 6 meeting. City Council members voted to approve an $8.5 million contract to HQS Construction. The money was approved in the fall of 2018 to tackle the paving issues and poor drainage. The price includes landscaping costs and massive traffic signal improvements along the main area. The improvements, when complete, will cover Main, Mill and Charles streets in Old Town Lewisville.

City Engineer David Salmon wrote a memo to council members describing the work required in the change order due to a sanitary sewer main issue. The issue was discovered on the site of a former Sonic Drive-in located on Mill Street and south of Main Street.

According to Salmon's memo, the mainline needed to be abandoned and rerouted another way. The change order will take care of the additional cost associated with the sewer line along Mill Street from Elm Street to Main Street and along Main Street from Mill Street to Kealy Avenue.

The reason for abandoning the sewer line is to ensure the city can provide public utilities to residents and business owners along the Main & Mill development. That includes water mains, sanitary sewers and storm sewers. The new plans will help mitigate future problems, such as tearing up concrete to replace more sewer lines which would cost the city more in the long run. 

City Council members also voted to approve an economic development agreement with Main & Mill’s developers. City Manager Donna Barron made a statement about the vote on Nov. 4.

“We’ve had a lot of public investment in the Old Town, from City Hall to the arts center and streetscaping, and now you’re starting to see major private sector investment,” Barron said. “This is probably the most impactful project that we’ve had in the Old Town. It’s a very exciting project that I think will bring a number of people to live in the heart of it.”