The University of Texas at Austin Red River Street Realignment
Owner: The University of Texas System
Civil Engineer: Martinez Moore Engineers
As construction manager-at-risk, SpawGlass teamed up with Martinez Moore Engineers and The University of Texas at Austin, in close coordination with the City of Austin, to realign a roadway that runs through a vital part of the UT Austin campus.
Formerly skirting around the campus, the new Red River Street route now runs a straight path alongside the new Moody Center Arena, between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Dean Keeton Street. The Moody Center Arena replaced the Frank Erwin Center and hosts live music events, shows and the University’s women’s and men’s basketball games. The new roadway covers 15 city blocks, providing direct access to the Center and surrounding facilities and improving the flow of traffic through an intersection bustling with activity. Crucial steps of this project included constructing storm water quality features, installing miles of utilities, and creating bicycle lanes and pedestrian walks. Aesthetic elements such as upgraded lighting and landscaping were installed to add a clean and modern look to the roadway.
The Red River Street Realignment project was carefully coordinated with neighboring construction projects that were also underway, including the completion of the arena itself, which required exhibiting an extraordinary level of communication with all involved parties. The team went above and beyond to build trust and ensure that the University and all stakeholders were considered and accommodated, going so far as to complete sections months ahead of schedule to avoid construction congestion during football season in front of the stadium.
Also posing a challenge were the decades-old existing utility lines in the most heavily congested area of the campus, which proved to be equal parts problem and learning opportunity. Outdated installation standards necessitated the adoption of a site-specific line strike prevention plan, which meant living teamwork by calling on the experience and knowledge of other team members within SpawGlass. After implementing the plan, the team was able to celebrate a successful project completion with far fewer obstacles. Superintendent Harrison Holley stated, “It was an incredibly difficult challenge, but our team worked together to rise above and is better because of it.”
Contributing to the success of this project was the outstanding work done by COE Concepts, our protégé partner through the UT System Mentor Protégé Program agreement. COE Concepts, a minority-owned/women-owned business enterprise (MBE/WBE), provided essential turnkey services such as barriers and traffic control, which enabled us to perform our work effectively.
A noteworthy achievement, late in 2022, the project team received the UT System Diamond Safety Through Exemplary Performance (STEP) Award, recognizing the team’s efforts and commitment to keeping everyone safe.
Overall, this project was a shining example of our team members going above and beyond and practicing each of our core values every step of the way. “We shaped our execution of the project to accommodate the needs of the owner and stakeholders to the best of our ability,” said Harrison. “In doing so, we believe we provided the absolute best construction experience.”
