Northpark Update: Drainage, New Subdivision, Traffic Changeover

5/24/25 – Contractors for the Northpark expansion project have completed the first of two pits that will let them bore under the UnionPacific Railroad tracks. They call the first pit the “launching pit” and the second the “receiving pit.” Each pit is 40 feet long and 20 feet wide. They should start work on the receiving pit after Memorial Day.

A boring machine will be anchored in the launching pit and force 20-foot sections of 5-foot steel pipe through the dirt under the tracks toward the receiving pit. Welds between sections will take an estimated three hours each. Work will continue 24/7 until complete.

When complete, two parallel 6-foot sections of pipe will carry stormwater from west to east. Before the pits are sealed back up, contractors will place huge junction boxes in them to connect the rest of the drainage system.

Safety First

Throughout the operation, crews will aim a laser at the track surface that can detect minute movements as trains pass over.

Ralph De Leon, project manager for the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority said, “If there is any shift, it will send a report back to the observers and they’ll be able to conduct another test 20 minutes later, half an hour later, an hour later, to see if it was just a fluctuation or if there’s really a problem inside the bore pit.”

He continued. “Every time a train goes over, work will stop anywhere from three to about 20 minutes. They will check everything all over again and then they’ll resume their work.”

Constant Checks

De Leon emphasized that, “every time they push in a piece of pipe, they take out the auger and they check the elevations and the flow lines to make sure that they’re still within the limits to get the slope they need for drainage.”

“If it looks like they’re doing nothing, it’s because they’re checking their work,” he said. The operation will continue 24/7 until complete, weather permitting.

Preparing the Pit

You can’t see into the pit from the road. But LHRA supplied these pictures of its construction. The steel frame, I-beams, and steel plates form the sides of the pit. The boring will take place where the wooden sections currently sit.

*Contractors constructed a grid of steel rebar along the base of the pit. They will stand it up off the ground by placing the gray blocks at the intersections.*

*Then they pour and spread concrete under, around and over the rebar. The red stakes indicate where they will later anchor the boring machine.*

*Next, they spread and level the concrete.*

*Finished bore pit. Red circles indicate where workers will anchor boring machine.*

*Red box indicates approximate location for receiving pit.* *Construction of that starts next week.*

A CenterPoint pole currently blocks the left bore. However, UnionPacific and CenterPoint have reached an agreement. The railroad has agreed to let CenterPoint enter its right of way and remove the pole. Until that happens, contractors will work on the right bore.

The dual bores should take approximately 4 weeks. Contractors will work under the supervision of both RailPros and UPRR inspectors until the work is completed.

New Development: Northpark Enclave

Lennar Homes of Texas is clearing land for a new subdivision called Northpark Enclave at Loop 494 and Northpark. It will contain 100 single family homes on approximately 11 acres. But one acre will go to stormwater detention. That means the homes will be built ten to an acre. That’s about as dense as the nearby Preserve at Woodridge.

Clearing for the Northpark Enclave is already underway south of Dunkin’ Donuts and Public Storage.

*Looking east from over 494. Northpark Drive on left. Land for Northpark Enclave being cleared.*

De Leon believes the drainage from the Enclave will go through Kings Mill into the Kingwood Diversion Ditch.

Montgomery County has not yet updated its Drainage Criteria Manual. So, it appears this development will squeak through under the old regulations developed in the 1980s which had a minor update in 2019.

Traffic Changeover Coming

The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority posted a new 3-week lookahead schedule. In addition to work on driveways, drainage and curbs, it shows a major traffic change coming next week.

The switch is scheduled for Wednesday night, June 4^th. Westbound traffic will shift to new pavement from approximately Culver’s westward to I-69. Once traffic is switched, a subcontractor will begin demolition of the old westbound lanes through that same area.

The paving crew will also continue roadway construction on westbound Northpark from the Kolache Factory to Public Storage.