Hopkins Street reopens as 2-year project comes to end

Hopkins Street reopened to traffic Wednesday as a two-year project comes to an end.

Construction on the Hopkins Street Improvements Project between Bishop to Moore Street began in May 2020 to address drainage problems and reconstruct the street.

​​“There was no drainage infrastructure in the neighborhood and so one of the big problems we were trying to solve was drainage in the neighborhood,” said Richard Reynosa, City of San Marcos assistant director of engineering. “We did a prior project which brought the drainage infrastructure from Dunbar Park to Hopkins so that we could create the drainage infrastructure for Hopkins Street. So, there was a lot of flooding of homes and stuff and so that was a big aspect of the project.”

Reynosa said Hopkins Street was long overdue for maintenance. Alongside adding a drainage system, the project also added electric utilities. The project included traffic calming measures with reduced street width, reduced speeds and three raised intersections. Bricks were also added to the sidewalks and on the three raised intersections along with decorative street lighting for aesthetic appeal.

“I think now that Hopkins is a historic neighborhood with the street completion that kind of wraps it up,” Reynosa said. “ I think with the project that it really completes the historic look and feel of the neighborhood.”

The city selected Jordan Foster Construction, an Austin-based company, as the construction contractor for the project. The project cost an estimated $10,070,388 with $3 million funded through a grant from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. Reynosa said the project stayed within its budget.

Although the project was slated to be completed in 2022, Reynosa said it was anticipated to occur earlier this year.

“With COVID and the winter storm that we had, and product supplies, there have been some delays,” Reynosa said. “But, also, with as old as Hopkins was and the infrastructure underneath it, there’s a lot of unforeseen that when you start excavating, you find things that aren’t in the location that you assumed they were and so that typically happens with most [capital improvement] projects that we do. With that, that kind of pushed the timeline out a little bit. But I wouldn’t say it was extensive, it was still in the approximate time that we anticipated it to be done.”

Speeds down Hopkins Street between Moore and Bishop are 30 mph with reduced speeds at 20 mph at the raised intersections. Reynosa said the city would like to further address speeds on Hopkins with the completion of the improvement project.

“I know that’s something that’s important with the neighborhood is to reduce speeds, and we did that throughout the surrounding neighborhood and postponed addressing Hopkins until it was completed,” Reynosa said. “So, that’s something that we’re looking to follow up on is lowering the posted speed limit on Hopkins to, again, slow traffic and be conscious of those residents along Hopkins.”