Work on Northpark Bridge Could Start as Early as December

10/10/25 – Barring weather delays, more unforeseen utility conflicts, and UnionPacific delays, work on the Northpark bridge over UP’s road tracks and Loop 494 could begin as early as December 2025.

Side Walls for Abutments Already Fabricated

According to Ralph De Leon, the project manager for the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10, all the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together. Speaking to the Kingwood Executive Group on Wednesday 10/8/2025, De Leon mapped out the next steps.

Fabrication of the cement side walls for the bridge ramps has finished. The cement panels are in a storage yard waiting for transport to the site.

They look much like the side panels for the ramps that lead up to the US59 bridges over Kingwood and Northpark Drives. They contain raised details of pine trees to fit with the Livable Forest motif.

But several things need to happen before the walls for the abutments go up. Abutments support the lateral pressure of an arch or span at the ends of a bridge.

Additional Preparatory Steps

First, contractors must finish the surface roads that will run beside the bridge (two lanes each side). And before they can do that, they must finish the drainage under those surface roads.

That in turn will require:

Finishing the bore operation under the railroad tracks to connect the drainage on both sides of the tracks.
Relocating some UP signaling equipment and power
Bringing fill dirt back from a sand mine on Sorters where it was stored after excavating the ponds at the entries.
Demolishing and removing the old lanes in the middle where the bridge will go up.
Building a foundation for the walls.
Drilling piers for the open span portion of the bridge which will go down 100 feet.

Pictures Taken 10/10/25

The pictures below taken today illustrate some of those steps.

*Looking E from Dairy Queen toward Kings Mill entrance at additional drainage and bed prep for new lanes beside bridge.*

*Looking W toward Loop 494, you can already see partial construction of surface lanes on left and right. Bridge will go in center where traffic and dirt are now.*

*Bores under tracks are still holding up construction of surface lanes on right. In the meantime, traffic detours around the work area.*

*Looking E from over entry ponds at US59. Demo of old lanes continues to make room for bridge and new surface lanes.*

*Dirt apparently being moved back from storage at sand mine is being stockpiled near south entry pond.*

Status of Bores under Tracks

The boring operation under the railroad tracks has been held up for several months by unexpected utility conflicts. The south bore is now complete.

But the north bore encountered two problems. A utility line broke off and had to be removed by hand. Next they encountered rocks, wood, and concrete debris that broke an augur. Still, De Leon’s project timetable shows that operation being completed by 10/18/25. They plan to hand-dig the remaining 11 feet.

*South bore (r) has already reached the receiving pit west of tracks.*

*Opposite direction (completed bore on left). Problem bore on right.*

*Examples of debris encountered while boring under tracks.*

*Looking S along 494 across Northpark. When the bores under the tracks are complete, contractors will place junction boxes in the pits, eliminating a blockage to the completion of Loop 494 expansion.*

There are a lot of moving pieces to this puzzle. But it’s slowly and surely coming together. And when it does, Kingwood will have its first all-weather evacuation route. And commuters will shorten their drive times.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/10/25

2964 Days since Harvey