Boring near railroad brings complications
GRANGER — The new $44 million Granger High School and field house won’t be open the first day of class thanks to water woes officials have pinned on construction hampered by the railroad.
The postponement is tied to a city-led boring project for water lines involving the Union Pacific Railroad that has encountered delays, said newly elected Mayor Bruce Waggoner and Granger Independent School District Superintendent Stephen Brosch.
“For the past eight months the city has run into substantial delays
“
The process with Union Pacific Railroad has many restrictions and is a lengthy process.”
— Granger Mayor Bruce Waggoner caused by the Union Pacific Railroad system not allowing their contractor to complete a boring method to complete their project,” Brosch said. “Multiple times we have been given expected dates of completion that have continuously gotten pushed back because of issues.”
For now, students on the first day of classes Aug. 13 will return to the original high school.
The football team and other sports will continue to use the current fields and field house until water is piped into the new facilities.
The district had planned for the first football game of the season on Aug. 29 to be played on the new field with spectators seated in the new stadium, but that plan is also on hold.
Waggoner said complications with the railway are not new.
“The process with Union Pacific Railroad has many restrictions and is a lengthy process,” Waggoner said.
The bore for the new water line needs to go from the west side of Granger to the east, under the UP tracks and across Texas 95, officials said.
After two previously failed boring attempts, the city contractor has now developed a plan to complete the necessary boring beneath 95 and the railroad tracks to connect the water line, according to officials.
Brosch said the water line has already been successfully run and connected to existing infrastructure except for the final segment involving the school.
“The estimated timeline we were given for this final work was about four to six weeks a week and a half ago,” he said.
A revised completion date has not been released.
Granger’s current high school was built in 1924. In 2022, voters approved a $44 million bond to build a new high school and athletic stadium with a track, weight room and field house.
The bond also included upgrades and renovations to the elementary school.
New baseball and softball fields were another part of the package, as well as the purchase of additional buses and land.
In April 2023, Granger ISD committed more than $1.2 million to bring water to the new site.
“This substantial investment was made to ensure the school district had an essential and reliable water supply, which is critical not only for everyday operations but also for safety measures such as fire protection,” Brosch said.
The allocated funds are financing the construction of the new water line from the campus to the city’s pipes, aiming to improve water pressure and volume, not only for the school but for the east side of town.
According to school officials, the city assured the district it would see to it that water infrastructure would be delivered to the campus and the project completed in time for the debut of the new school.
Waggoner invited residents to the next City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 11, for an update on construction.
The session is at Granger City Hall, 214 E. Davilla St.
Granger’s new secondary school is unable to open in time for the new school year. Photo by Emily Treadway
