Lubbock drivers must navigate barricades along 19th Street through December.
Then it’s over.
The project between University Avenue and Interstate 27 should be done except for a few little odds and ends, according to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
“It was originally a three-year project and the original completion date was this July. We didn’t make it,” said Dianah Coronado, spokesperson for the Lubbock office of TxDOT.
The finish line has moved a few times, running into unexpected issues with underground utilities:
- Original completion: July 2025
- Delayed estimate: Spring 2026
- Now revised: December 2025
This was different from most TxDOT projects – which is why it took so long.
Turnback program
TxDOT and Lubbock made a deal in January 2022. TxDOT would refurbish 19th Street and then turn it over to the city.
“The jurisdiction will transfer to the City of Lubbock. … They’ll maintain the roadway. They will be able to set speed limits and it essentially becomes a City of Lubbock roadway,” Coronado said.
This was part of the state’s turnback program, described in a state document in 2015 as: “A highway turnback program is the transfer of state-owned roads that function more like city streets than state highways.”
But the city thought it would be a problem to put down brand new pavement only to rip it up every time old utility lines broke.
“We incorporated City of Lubbock water line plans into our project. … The contractor ran into a lot of unmarked utilities. … that really slowed the process down,” Coronado said.
Every unmarked utility meant an unscheduled stop so the city could get things fixed or replaced.
“That’s not something we typically do. …. When we work with cities to relocate or make adjustments to utilities, that work typically happens before any construction starts,” Coronado said.
But this time, the utility work was inseparable from the new paving.
“Then new materials had to be ordered, which took more time,” Coronado added.
If we make it through December
“We thought that maybe we would not be finished with this project until the spring of ‘26, but you know the contractor has made up some time,” Coronado said.
So having pushed the deadline back nearly a year, TxDOT now thinks it will end six months late.
“All the lanes will be open to traffic. Now, there might be some other minor work that’s going on – maybe with the traffic signals – maybe some minor concrete work – maybe putting up signs. But right now, we are anticipating that all lanes of traffic will be open to the public by the end of December,” Coronado said.
What would the minor concrete work be?
“They’re also still working on curbs and gutters, sidewalks, driveways. And I think they still have a little bit to finish on the storm sewer system along the south side of 19th Street between University and Q,” Coronado said.
Folks on social media sometimes think this is a city project. It’s TxDOT.
One person said TxDOT had to replace the contractor. That happened on a project south of Lubbock, but not 19th Street.
The project cost is $25.7 million. So far, the state has paid out $23.7 million.
Timeline of 19th Street construction
- June 2022: Start on 19th Street from Memphis Avenue to I-27.
- November 2023: Westbound lanes of 19th Street from Memphis to University done (milled and repaved with new asphalt). Eastbound lanes still lacked one round of asphalt.
- February 2024: Last bit of repaving done on eastbound 19th from University to Memphis.
- August 2024: Traffic shifted and reduced to one lane in each direction between Q and University.
- December 2024: Traffic shifted and reduced to one lane in each direction between Q and I-27.
- December 2025: Revised deadline to get project substantially completed.
