Central Texas News

City of Round Rock launches new dashboard to provide updates on brush collection 

The City of Round Rock has created a new information hub at roundrocktexas.gov/brush to update the public on cleanup efforts following the recent ice storm.

Initial reports estimated that Winter Storm Mara created 1 million cubic yards of brush across the community, and the City of Round Rock is now conducting the largest cleanup effort in its history. In the days following the storm, the City began offering curbside pickup services and two drop-off locations for in-city residents to dispose of brush at no cost. At this time, it’s estimated that the City will process approximately 400,000-600,000 cubic yards of tree debris that fell through curbside requests and the brush recycling drop-off locations — that’s enough brush to fill Dell Diamond to a height of 12 stories. In the first two weeks of cleanup efforts, crews had collected an estimated total of 75,000 cubic yards of brush — that’s more than two years’ worth of normal collections at the City’s Brushy Recycling Center.

Round Rock City Council will also consider more than $4.6 million in contracts and purchases to assist with cleanup efforts, including a $3 million contract with TFR Enterprises for disaster response including brush pickup, grinding and disposal services; a $1.5 million contract with Austin Wood Recycling for brush grinding and hauling services; and ratifying the purchase of a $115,286.25 brush chipper. The City engaged TFR Enterprises and Austin Wood Recycling to assist crews from City departments in cleanup efforts in the week following the storm event. Central Texas Refuse, who the City contracts with for trash and recycling collection, is also conducting brush pickup throughout the community.

Over 9,000 requests have been received for curbside brush pickup services, and the City and its contractors have been conducting brush pickup operations on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis. The order of neighborhoods primarily considers where the most tree damage and/or requests occurred, while ensuring crews are working in neighborhoods in each quadrant of the City at any given time. Crews are expected to generally work their way from the outskirts of the community toward the center.

City crews and contractors are handling requests as quickly as possible, but due to the massive volume of tree limbs, some neighborhoods have taken well over a full week to clear of debris. The City has now created an interactive map to show the public where crews are currently working, and to identify the next group of neighborhoods set to be cleared of debris. The categories are:

• Pickups Complete — This denotes that the initial cleanup for this neighborhood has been completed. The City is asking residents to refrain from submitting second pickup requests until the dashboard shows that every neighborhood has been serviced for initial pickups.
• In Progress — This denotes that crews are actively in neighborhoods. Please note that City crews and contractors are handling requests as quickly as possible, but due to the massive volume of tree limbs, some neighborhoods have taken well over a full week to clear of debris. Therefore, it is not feasible to provide exact pickup dates for residents within each neighborhood. 
• Next Group — This denotes that crews will begin work in these neighborhoods within the next 10 days. Residents are strongly encouraged to move their vehicles when they see removal activities in their neighborhood, as crews will be forced to skip areas they cannot access. 
• Future Group — If your neighborhood is part of this group with a start date yet to be determined, it is safe to assume your neighborhood is at least two to three weeks out from being serviced, at a minimum. REMINDER: The City’s brush drop-off locations remain the quickest option for residents to dispose of brush, if they are able to haul it themselves.

Original source can be found here