The Porter Dam: Road to Nowhere (Except Flooding)
Mike Eberle, a local entrepreneur owns Lakeside Plumbing, Gulf Coast Raceway and Mike’s Hobby Shop in Porter just off 494 on Knox. He arrived at work on December 8th to find his plumbing business flooded and his other two businesses surrounded by water.
Ditch Backing Up
This time, the culprit wasn’t Harvey or the San Jacinto River; Eberle’s businesses lie more than 3.5 miles from the river. It was someone who built a needless road over a drainage ditch. Because the capacity of the culvert under the road did not match the capacity of culverts farther up the ditch, water backed up for blocks. It flooded surrounding properties including homes, businesses and a church.
The Ditch Constriction
According to Eberle’s son, TexDoT permitted the Road to Nowhere (see below), which Eberle dubbed “The Porter Dam.” Eberle’s son says TexDoT told him that the permit should never have been issued. Supposedly, TexDoT will rip the road out on Friday, December 21. This should make an early and welcome Christmas gift to the neighbors up-ditch who flooded.
On the Road to Nowhere, Eberle looked up the ditch toward his property during the flood. Below is what he saw – water everywhere.
Below the ditch…he saw a much different story.
Several days after the floodwater receded, you could see why, Note the size of the culverts above the road. In contrast, here’s what the culvert under the Road to Nowhere looks like.
Property Owner
According to the Montgomery County Appraisal District, the Road to Nowhere is on property owned by Randal A Tr Hendricks, 400 Randal Way in Spring. Hendricks Interests, LLC, also at that address, promotes itself as a developer of residential and commercial properties and has been doing business since 1978. Hendricks currently lists eleven pad sites for sale in the Kroger Center at North Park and 59, slightly south of the Road to Nowhere.
One can only speculate why someone would build a useless road that backed water up onto neighbor’s property.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/20/2018
478 Days since Hurricane Harvey
