More Northpark Concrete Poured Today; Expansion Update

10/04/24 – At 3 AM this morning, contractors narrowed outbound traffic down to one lane to begin pouring more Northpark concrete west of the entrance to Kings Mill.

It wasn’t the first pour in the two-mile-long project designed to create an all-weather evacuation route from Kingwood. And it won’t be the last. But together with other improvements, one can finally start to see the finished project taking shape.

The pour continued until early afternoon. Elsewhere along Northpark, one could see other workers installing asphalt underlayment for future concrete pours and working on lateral drainage where it ties into culverts down the center of the road.

Next Steps

Contractors are also getting ready to bore under the UnionPacific Railroad Tracks, Loop 494 and Northpark itself. The bore(s) will connect via a series of junction boxes to “Ditch One” behind Public Storage and Dunkin’ Donuts.

From there, the ditch will carry excess stormwater to Ben’s Branch and the Kingwood Diversion Ditch.

Pictures Taken 10/4/24

I took the following pictures of more Northpark concrete being poured around 10 AM this morning.

*Grayish areas in center show partially dried and freshly poured concrete from this morning.*

*New concrete now extends west to QuickQuack Car Wash from Kings Mill entrance in both directions.*

*Looking E toward Russell Palmer. Another concrete truck pulls up to unload as men spread and smooth previous loads.*

*Looking W. Fresh asphalt extending west from Russell Palmer will become the base for the next rounds of concrete.*

Plans also call for widening 494. It too will become three lanes in each direction. See below.

*Looking W toward entry ponds and US59. Note the road bed prep next to the Shell Station and Loop 494.*

More Northpark concrete should be poured next Friday – 10/11/24. Again, it will happen between approximately 3 AM and 1 PM and should involve the closure of at least one lane.

Also of note: on the last weekend of October, there will be a full closure of Northpark at the Russel Palmer intersection to place paving across the intersection. This will begin on Friday and completely close the intersection until Monday morning 5AM. Detours will be in place for Russel Palmer traffic.

For More Information

Consult the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority project pages including a new 3-week lookahead schedule posted today.

For a history of the project and its goals, see these ReduceFlooding posts:

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/4/24

2593 Days since Hurricane Harvey