On January 25, the Irving City Council greenlit several enhancements to the Hunter Ferrell Landfill. These improvements include allocating $4.5 million for the construction of middle and west tract cells along with drainage enhancements. Additionally, $2.18 million was designated for a new maintenance building and resident convenience center. Moreover, a service agreement worth $84,788 between the city and Oncor for electricity to the site of the new maintenance building was approved.
The Hunter Ferrell Landfill commenced operations in 1982, coinciding with Irving's transformation into a burgeoning suburban community with around 110,000 residents, as per the 1980 U.S. census. Spanning 139.5 acres, only a third of the area has been utilized for disposal services. With the city's population now exceeding 263,270 and the landfill receiving an average of about 650 tons of trash daily, the decision was made to proceed with constructing new disposal cells in the middle and west tracts of the landfill.
Construction for these projects is slated to commence in March, with an estimated duration of one year, subject to weather conditions.
New Disposal Cells
The city will construct a new middle tract disposal cell that is about 17 acres in size and 85 feet deep. While a portion of the middle tract is currently in operation, the new excavation site will provide more disposal area for Irving’s growing community. The west tract disposal cell construction will include 1 acre of the site that will be 23 feet deep. This portion of land will conclude the west tract, which has been in operation for more than 40 years.
The city will also include drainage improvements with the disposal cell project. The improvements will be built along the perimeter of the landfill’s footprint to manage water runoff.
The City’s Solid Waste Services (SWS) Department operates the landfill and will oversee the upcoming projects. While the total construction cost was estimated at $8.3 million for the new cells and drainage improvements, SWS anticipated a costly project and took action to mitigate high construction costs.
“Knowing that this was going to be an expensive project, we took the initiative to begin excavation where we were going to be constructing the middle tract,” said Travis Switzer, Solid Waste Services Director. “Our own staff was getting ahead of the game and excavating that dirt and reusing it for daily cover, knowing that every scoop we took out saved money.”
New Resident Convenience Center and Maintenance Shop
The city will open an all-weather resident convenience center that will allow residents to use the landfill drop-off for household trash, recycling, scrap metal and tires. At the current facility, when heavy rain and inclement weather appears in the forecast, the city closes residential access to the landfill due to hazardous and muddy conditions. The new location will provide residents with all-weather access to the drop-off separate from the landfill’s working face, which will create a safer and more efficient environment for the community and staff.
Additionally, the current maintenance facility will be relocated out of the west tract and moved to the southern portion of the middle tract. The new facility is about 5,000 square feet and will include a 15-ton bridge crane, as well as electricity. This will allow the landfill to maintain and service equipment on-site. Hunter Ferrell Landfill is located at 110 E. Hunter Ferrell Road and is open Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit CityofIrving.org/SWS.
