Is Sherman infrastructure ready for the billion dollar TI expansion?

Sherman City Manager Robby Hefton said this month that the city is able to support the early infrastructure needs for the new Texas Instruments expansion, but future growth will need to be addressed.
Sherman City Manager Robby Hefton said this month that the city is able to support the early infrastructure needs for the new Texas Instruments expansion, but future growth will need to be addressed.

In short, Sherman city officials say yes, the city is ready for the expansion with plans for infrastructure needs already in the works.

So, when Texas Instruments opens its proposed $29.4 billion production plant, it will bring with it the promise of expanded business, thousands of new jobs and investment in the community. However, the project — the largest in Sherman's history — brings with it infrastructure demands and increased need for water, sewer and other utilities.

Sherman city staff recently spoke about the future needs of the plant and the steps the city of Sherman will need to and is taking to prepare the road, figuratively and literally, for the expansion.

"We don't feel like we have a whole lot of time to spare here, which is why we've already gone into the process of engaging engineers on our side that will be working with TI's engineers," Sherman City Manager Robby Hefton said. "We do feel like we have a bit of breathing room since it appears they won't be doing phases three and four soon."

In November, Texas Instruments announced that Sherman has been selected to be the home of a new of a new production plant that would effectively shift its Sherman operations toward new components. The plant would be built in four phase with construction of the more than $6 billion first phase expected to begin some time in 2022. This first phase is slated to bring with it about 800 jobs.

The announcement of the site selection came more than a year after the tech company announced it would shut down operations of its existing Sherman facility by 2025. Under the current schedule, the new plant will be starting production in the same year.

When TI hits full buildout, it will be the largest water customer in the city, surpassing that of Panda Power, Hefton said in late 2021. However, this is less of a concern for the first phases of the project, he noted.

"With regard to TI phase one, I would say we are in good shape aside from getting the TCEQ wastewater discharge permits," he said highlighting projects that are under way that will boost the city's water production. "All of that would give us the capacity to handle TI's first phase."

While TI will put an increased demand on the city's infrastructure, Hefton said the city had already anticipated other growth coming in the near future and took steps toward increasing its capacity.

"Even before TI came to be, we were looking at our utility master plan updates for both water and sewer," Hefton said.

Sherman City Manager Robby Hefton said this week that  Sherman is able to support the infrastructure needs of the first phase of the Texas Instruments expansion, however future growth may need more water, road and sewer improvements.
Sherman City Manager Robby Hefton said this week that Sherman is able to support the infrastructure needs of the first phase of the Texas Instruments expansion, however future growth may need more water, road and sewer improvements.

The city already anticipated the need for infrastructure with several planned developments anticipated to come online within the next few years. As an example, Hefton said Bel AIr Village, located along FM 1417, is anticipated to be a high user.

"We knew that we'd need to do those improvements without TI," Hefton said, referring to Bel Air. "And that is just from one of four of our planned developments."

The city has invested in updates to its treatment plant in recent years in anticipation for this growth. With these recent updates, the city included design features to make the plant modular and allow for future expansions with relative ease, Hefton said.

"It will take months to do that rather than years," he said.

Despite the work at the plant, Hefton said there are two aspects of water production that still need to be expanded in order to increase production. The first hurdle will be increasing the city's allocation of water water it can discharge from the plant. Hefton said that there is some byproduct water that is produced as a part of the purification process. The city is allowed to discharge this water, but the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The city is currently working with the TCEQ on applications that will allow it it to increase its allowances. The city has received administrative approval and is waiting for the technical review to be completed.

The other need for the city will be increased capacity to deliver purified water from the plant to customers across the city. With TI expected in the near future, Hefton said he expects many of the future lines will be in the southern portions of the city.

"The same trunk lines that serve TI will serve Bel Air and Shepherd's Place and the Village planned developments," Hefton said.

Outside of water, Hefton said there likely will need to be road improvements and construction related to the TI expansion, however he anticipated that this will come in the later phases.

Stephen Proia, plant manager for Texas Instruments in Sherman, and Principal Jenifer Politi spent time with CTE students as they completed metalworking, woodworking and other projects during class.
Stephen Proia, plant manager for Texas Instruments in Sherman, and Principal Jenifer Politi spent time with CTE students as they completed metalworking, woodworking and other projects during class.

This article originally appeared on Herald Democrat: Is Sherman infrastructure ready for the billion dollar TI expansion?