Northpark Contractors Start Boring Under Railroad Tracks

5/17/25 – Contractors have finally started boring under UnionPacific Railroad (UPRR) tracks to connect Northpark drainage east and west of Loop 494. That crucial connection is a key to beginning many other parts of the Northpark expansion project.

Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority first contacted UPRR about running Northpark drainage under their tracks ten years ago. And for those keeping track, it was eight years ago that the two parties signed their first contract.

Fifth Contract is the Charm

If you’re wondering why it’s taken so long, the two parties are now working on their fifth contract. But all that is in the past. So are the special UPRR training sessions that contractors and LHRA staff had to attend. So is the years-long wait for UPRR to weld single 200-foot-long sections of track into place across the ten lanes of Northpark.

All energies are positive now and the project is moving forward.

*Looking W along Northpark across Loop 494 toward US59. Location of starting point for bore circled. This and all pictures below taken on Friday, May 16, 2025.*

One Pole Blocking Bore Must Move

Note, however, a CenterPoint pole is still in the way. See below.

*Energized electric lines must be moved to adjacent pole on right.*

CenterPoint needs to transfer the energized lines from the existing wood poles on each side of Northpark to the newly installed and adjacent fiberglass poles. Those are designed to route the electricity underground at that location – out of the way of the bridge. Once electricity is rerouted, the old pole blocking progress can be removed.

Yesterday, I received word from City Councilman Fred Flickinger’s District E office that CenterPoint and UPRR are close to signing a contract that will let CenterPoint enter UPRR’s right of way to move the pole. Good news!

*A steel frame and steel plates locked together by those giant timbers in the foreground will protect the operation.*

Steel, Not Concrete Pipe Needed

After completing the bore pit, contractors will run six-foot steel pipes under the tracks. The tolerance is exceedingly tight. The tracks cannot move more than one-quarter inch despite the weight and vibration of mile-long trains carrying heavy loads. Hence the steel.

*Pipes that will eventually bore under tracks are being stockpiled for now on S side of Northpark.*

Bore Pit Built Like Underground Fortress

From the ground, construction of the bore pit looked like this.

*Steel I-beams and steel frame form perimeter of pit.*

*Then giant steel plates were slotted between the I-beams.*

*Looking E from over Loop 494. Steel pipe will connect to a giant junction box in the dirt area (bottom center).*

Junction Boxes Will Tie Drainage Together

When this operation is complete, we will have two junction boxes on either side of the tracks.

Some time ago, a third junction box was placed underground near the Shell station on the opposite side of Loop 494. Before contractors paved the new southbound lanes on Loop 494, they already connected giant 8’x8′ reinforced concrete pipe under the paving. So now, all they have to do is connect that to the center junction box west of the tracks (foreground above).