New Entergy Power Poles Finally Arrive On Northpark
I got a tip last night that new Entergy power poles finally arrived. Today, I photographed the long-awaited equipment. The poles are not up yet. Nothing is connected to them. Most are just lying in the dirt.
In the quest to build an all-weather evacuation route for 78,000 Kingwood residents, readers may remember that the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ-10 has sparred with Entergy for four years. Entergy’s power lines need to be moved out of a City-owned easement to accommodate the expansion of Northpark Drive.
I have confirmed that the poles belong to Entergy. Entergy also claims that they will begin erecting the poles in the next few days, weather permitting.
My source did not provide an estimated date for completion. Nor did the source discuss plans for moving Entergy’s transformer near the Exxon station at US59.
But still, this is progress.
Making Way for Surface Turn Lanes
The existing Entergy power poles need to move back to make way for two surface turn lanes that will parallel the bridge over the UP railroad tracks at Loop 494.
One of the two new westbound turn lanes will let traffic turn left onto 494 and the other will let it turn right. This is a TXDoT requirement.
The City of Houston issued Entergy an ultimatum to have its equipment out of the way by March 8. March 8 came and went without a sign of Entergy along Northpark. Now, almost a month later, we finally have some movement that could avert a costly legal battle that had the potential to shut the expansion project down.
This is good news. The presence of the power lines in the right of way has delayed construction considerably and forced contractors to take tasks out of sequence.
Union Pacific access issues have already been worked out. So, hopefully, construction should move faster now.
Elsewhere Along Northpark
Northbound turn lanes at 59 have reached their full width and are growing longer.
As soon as the new turn lanes are complete, traffic in the old lanes will be rerouted to them. Then contractors will repave the old lanes. That process should take three months according to LHRA. Westbound traffic should expect delays.
LHRA encourages commuters to take alternative routes. For the next phase of work, the contractor will install new storm sewer pipes and inlets along with the new concrete roadway.
Russell Palmer Intersection Closed This Weekend
Farther east, contractors have already removed a pole mounted traffic signal at the Northpark/Russell Palmer Intersection. This weekend, they will rip up the intersection to extend the box culverts in the median. The crossover will close from 9pm Friday night, April 5, to 5am Monday morning, April 8, to make way for construction.
Traffic was backed up for more than a mile in each direction this afternoon because of multiple lane closures as you can see above.
Construction is never easy. Pack your patience. Plan on delays. And search for alternative routes for the duration.
For More Information
For more information about Northpark expansion, visit the project pages of the LHRA/Tirz 10 website. Or see these posts on ReduceFlooding:
- 24/03/29 Northpark Expansion Update; Still No Sign of Entergy
- 24/03/16 First Concrete Poured for Northpark Expansion
- 24/03/09 Entergy Ignores City Deadline to Move Power Lines
- 24/03/08 TXDoT, LHRA Engage Kingwood at Northpark Phase II Meeting
- 24/03/05 Details of Phase II Meeting
- 24/02/27 February ’24 Northpark Expansion Update Including Lane Closures
- 24.02/24 Save the Dates: Public Input Meetings for Diversion Ditch, Northpark Expansion Phase II
- 24/02/20 Entergy Escalates Battle with COH over Northpark
- 24/02/16 Excavation of Second Northpark Detention Basin Well Underway
- 24/02/10 Entergy in City’s Crosshairs, Lane Closures Announced
- 24/02/02 Northpark Tree Transplantation Finished, Drainage Updates
- 24/01/13 Excavation of Northpark Detention Basins Starts
- 24/01/07 What Some Utilities Don’t Understand About the Northpark Expansion Project
- 24/01/04 Northpark Tree Moving Starts; Pond Excavation Next
- 23/12/03 Northpark Expansion Presses Forward While Fighting Entergy Obstacle
- 23/11/17 Contractors Strike Oil at Entry (Illegally dumped years ago)
- 23/11/05 City Approves Northpark Expansion Agreement with Union-Pacific.
- 23/10/26 Project moving forward on multiple fronts
- 23/10/12 Transplanting first tree
- 23/10/02 Clearing of south-side entry for second pond
- 23/09/30 Clearing north-side entry for first pond
- 23/09/23 How plan balances flood mitigation, costs, saving trees
- 23/09/02 New entry design, change in construction plans forced by utility conflicts
- 23/08/17 More drainage for Northpark
- 23/08/02 Ditch clearing stretches halfway to 59 in less than week
- 23/07/25 Northpark construction starts in earnest
- 23/04/13 Groundbreaking
- 22/02/19 Update on expansion project
- 21/07/28 Plan details
Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/2/24
2408 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.