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The Weimar City Council has been overseeing and moving forward with a number of aesthetic and infrastructure improvements as there are many future changes that are on the way for the city. While these changes are not necessarily related to the upcoming Gedenke festival or the city’s 150th birthday, the timing of these improvements fit nicely with these celebrations as they approach.
“I wouldn’t say there is any more urgency because of the 150th anniversary,” Weimar City Manager Mike Barrow said on the many projects around the town, “Our public works crews stay very busy and have been every year leading up to this year. I believe if anyone asked our crews, they’d say it feels like any other year, too much to do and not enough time... But our public works crews and our electric crew really do a good job working together to help each other [get] things done.”
One of the infrastructure changes the citizens of Weimar can expect is related to the water lines around the town. In many different areas, water lines have been replaced as they had passed their “useful life” due to age and were too small in diameter to transport water at its maximum efficiency. The intended effect of these changes is to provide more consistent water pressure and volume to the homes and businesses connected to these lines. The 100 Blk E Church was a major target area for these improvements as around 18 hundred feet of water lines were replaced in the neighborhood. Several other areas are scheduled for future water-line improvements as the standing systems continue to age. North Summit Street, the 300 and 400 blocks of West Converse Street as well as West Grange Street are a few areas that will be included in these improvements in coming months. They have also made water source improvements as well, restoring the “Tin Man” elevated water storage tank and making plans to create a new water well using the updated model of their first plant to guide the new project. Changes to the water sources and lines have been to solve various issues related to aging infrastructure that the city has looked to modernize.
Another initiative the city will be focusing on for the coming years is the TxDoT sidewalk project that is still currently in its first phase in Weimar. Stage one has entered its final design period with organizers hoping that construction can begin sometime in the Fall. The first phase centers on adding new sidewalks along Highway 90 as well as improving current sidewalks. Along with the improvement and addition of sidewalks throughout the city, the project will also include the addition of pole lights from College Street to Eagle Street. Stage two of the TxDoT program has entered the “detailed application” phase where Weimar will propose improvements intended for 2025 and wait for the proposal’s approval.
The city of Weimar will also continue their partnership with the Lower Colorado River Authority as the two entities have made several changes and improvements to Hill Park since their first joint projects in 2016. Weimar city crews began the initial clearing of the overgrown wooded areas surrounding the park before the LCRA stepped in the next year. Since then, the LCRA has completed 95% of the clearing efforts according to Barrow. While the LCRA has focused on tree clearing and trimming, the city crews have targeted their efforts towards adding new concrete trails and LED trail lights. The city is hoping to have some potential new additions to the park, and they also hope to connect additional trails to connect the existing trails near the playground by sometime next year.
Weimar has a number of other future improvements they are hoping to make to the infrastructure and processes in the city. Parks will continue to be a focus for updates as well as Weimar residents can expect to see in the coming years.
