2/21/25 – The UnionPacific Railroad (UPRR) has started preparing rails that it will place in one 200-foot long section across 10 lanes of Northpark Drive traffic.
The closure of Northpark for the installation is still scheduled for March 5-7.
UPRR is prepping the rails in the old northbound lanes of Loop 494 immediately north of Northpark. I can’t wait to see how they maneuver a section this large into place. It will be like trying to lift something the length of 10 20-foot cargo containers placed end to end.
Work to Date on Rail Prep
So far, UPRR has fused individual sections of rail into two long sections and placed them side by side. They have also started to stack railroad ties next to the rails. Presumably, at some point, the rails will be positioned on the ties before they move together.
The 17-second video below dramatizes how long the sections of rail are. The drone is moving almost as fast as the white vehicle that enters the frame a few seconds in.
Video taken afternoon of 2/21/2025
Here’s an overhead perspective that lets you gauge length by the number of cars backed up at the red light.
Overhead shot shows length of rails between red brackets. Section equals the length of 11-12 vehicles waiting for red light.Workers had not yet completed laying all ties to the left end of the rails.
As I was leaving, another 18-wheeler showed up with more ties.
Shot from other end shows how flexible solid steel can be in long lengths.Note rail on left.
UPRR appears to have straightened the rail on the right so that workers can line up ties against it.
Welding the track in a single section improves strength and safety by reducing the risk of rails shifting. I will post more details about the track prep as the effort progresses.
The new track will stretch under and across ten full lanes of traffic. Those include:
Three lanes of westbound traffic over a bridge yet to be built
Three lanes of eastbound traffic over the same bridge
Two westbound surface lanes, one for turning north, the other for turning south
Two eastbound surface lanes, one for traffic entering from the north and the other for traffic entering from the south.
Northpark Closed March 5-7, But with U-Turn at Railroad
To put the track in place, UPRR needs to close down Northpark Drive in BOTH directions simultaneously to work with massive cranes.
Ralph De Leon, project manager for the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority, stressed that the remainder of Northpark Drive will remain open so that people may access businesses.
Just plan on getting across the tracks some way other than Northpark. Contractors will construct a U-turn just before the track closure so that people can get to/from nearby businesses, such as Dunkin’ Donuts.
2/20/25 – Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger has postponed Round 2 of Median Madness because of weather predictions. Instead of February 22, the City will now hold the event on March 8 from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM.
Median Madness is a volunteer event in which Kingwood residents work with City crews to clear vines and underbrush encroaching on Kingwood Drive. The goal: to enhance the beauty of the community and improve traffic safety.
Weather predictions for this Saturday morning call for near freezing temperatures and a high probability of rain. Hence, the postponement.
If You Haven’t Yet Signed Up…
If you missed the first Median Madness event held last November, you missed some fun.
Residents and City Council Members attacked the vines which had been encroaching on traffic and trimmed them back with enthusiasm.
The November event focused on the south side of the median facing Kingwood Lakes. The March event will focus on the north side facing Kings Forest.
The City will close one lane of Kingwood Drive westbound traffic for parking. Please carpool to save space. And remember:
Park between Kings Creek Drive and Forest Shores Drive. That’s about a block past Kings Forest Drive and a block short of Shady Run. You’ll see markers when you get there.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/20/2025
2732 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Median-Madness-Flyer-Postponed-e1740073689629.jpg?fit=1100%2C1424&ssl=114241100adminadmin2025-02-20 12:21:492025-02-20 12:23:53Median Madness Postponed Due to Weather, Now March 8
2/19/25 – Eight Harris County department heads make more in salary than the President of the United States. All are women or minorities. The mega salaries go to the heads of the:
Institute of Forensic Sciences
Toll Road Authority
Engineering Department
Universal Services
Public Health Services
Flood Control District
Office of County Administrator
Office of Management and Budget
Moreover, 17 Harris County department heads make more than U.S. cabinet-level officials such as the Secretaries of Defense, State, Homeland Security, Commerce, etc., in the U.S. Government.
The U.S. President supervises roughly 3 million employees (as of January 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Yet the head of Harris County Flood Control has roughly 300 and makes more money.
Her $434,137 salary is also $185,000 more than the U.S. Secretary of Defense makes. The Secretary of Defense oversees the nation’s largest department. He coordinates the national defense with more than 1.4 million active-duty service members and 800,000 reserve personnel.
In contrast, the head of the Flood Control District coordinates the design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure projects in Harris County. That’s certainly no small job. But it’s not nearly as large as the national defense.
Is Harris County the land of opportunity or what!!!
The heads of six other Harris County departments received even bigger raises. Several received those raises despite severe, withering criticism of their performance in open Commissioners Court. For example…
And if adjusted for construction-industry inflation, the spending rate shows she’s producing projects at a slower rate now than the Flood Control District did before flood-bond passage in 2018. Reportedly, her predecessors initiated virtually all of the HCFCD projects now entering the construction phase.
Discounting the $234.6 million that HCFCD spent in 2024 by cumulative 35% inflation since 2018 roughly equals pre-bond spending in 2017.
The loss of purchasing power to inflation means that many Flood Bond projects may never get built. And that will most affect people at the bottom of the county’s priority list, such as residents of the San Jacinto River watershed.
Pay More, Get Less
Overall, Harris County has increased taxes (rates x appraisals) 30% in the last two years. That’s 4-5X greater than the rate of inflation. And that included a 63% Flood Control tax increase last year.
So, how does the leader of an organization with plummeting performance get a salary increase for almost $90,000?
It’s all Monopoly money to the Democrats who control Commissioner’s Court. It’s not coming out of their pockets. It’s coming out of yours.
And they’re probably betting on the fact that you won’t realize you’re paying one of their political pals more money than the President of the United States to manage 10,000 times fewer employees.
But hey. We keep re-electing them. Maybe it’s time to get loud.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/19/2025
2731 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.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/HCFCD-Spending-2017-2025.png?fit=1488%2C888&ssl=18881488adminadmin2025-02-19 17:56:442025-02-20 09:00:078 Harris County Department Heads Make More Than U.S. President
UPRR Getting Rails Ready for Northpark Closure
2/21/25 – The UnionPacific Railroad (UPRR) has started preparing rails that it will place in one 200-foot long section across 10 lanes of Northpark Drive traffic.
The closure of Northpark for the installation is still scheduled for March 5-7.
UPRR is prepping the rails in the old northbound lanes of Loop 494 immediately north of Northpark. I can’t wait to see how they maneuver a section this large into place. It will be like trying to lift something the length of 10 20-foot cargo containers placed end to end.
Work to Date on Rail Prep
So far, UPRR has fused individual sections of rail into two long sections and placed them side by side. They have also started to stack railroad ties next to the rails. Presumably, at some point, the rails will be positioned on the ties before they move together.
The 17-second video below dramatizes how long the sections of rail are. The drone is moving almost as fast as the white vehicle that enters the frame a few seconds in.
Here’s an overhead perspective that lets you gauge length by the number of cars backed up at the red light.
As I was leaving, another 18-wheeler showed up with more ties.
UPRR appears to have straightened the rail on the right so that workers can line up ties against it.
Welding the track in a single section improves strength and safety by reducing the risk of rails shifting. I will post more details about the track prep as the effort progresses.
The new track will stretch under and across ten full lanes of traffic. Those include:
Northpark Closed March 5-7, But with U-Turn at Railroad
To put the track in place, UPRR needs to close down Northpark Drive in BOTH directions simultaneously to work with massive cranes.
Ralph De Leon, project manager for the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority, stressed that the remainder of Northpark Drive will remain open so that people may access businesses.
Just plan on getting across the tracks some way other than Northpark. Contractors will construct a U-turn just before the track closure so that people can get to/from nearby businesses, such as Dunkin’ Donuts.
For More Information
See the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority project web pages. For a history of the project, see these select posts on ReduceFlooding.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/21/25
2733 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Median Madness Postponed Due to Weather, Now March 8
2/20/25 – Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger has postponed Round 2 of Median Madness because of weather predictions. Instead of February 22, the City will now hold the event on March 8 from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM.
Median Madness is a volunteer event in which Kingwood residents work with City crews to clear vines and underbrush encroaching on Kingwood Drive. The goal: to enhance the beauty of the community and improve traffic safety.
Weather predictions for this Saturday morning call for near freezing temperatures and a high probability of rain. Hence, the postponement.
If You Haven’t Yet Signed Up…
If you missed the first Median Madness event held last November, you missed some fun.
Residents and City Council Members attacked the vines which had been encroaching on traffic and trimmed them back with enthusiasm.
The November event focused on the south side of the median facing Kingwood Lakes. The March event will focus on the north side facing Kings Forest.
The City will close one lane of Kingwood Drive westbound traffic for parking. Please carpool to save space. And remember:
All ages are welcome but those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Sign up for more details and to download a release form at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0848A8A823A5FBC70-55227367-median.
Park between Kings Creek Drive and Forest Shores Drive. That’s about a block past Kings Forest Drive and a block short of Shady Run. You’ll see markers when you get there.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/20/2025
2732 Days since Hurricane Harvey
8 Harris County Department Heads Make More Than U.S. President
2/19/25 – Eight Harris County department heads make more in salary than the President of the United States. All are women or minorities. The mega salaries go to the heads of the:
Moreover, 17 Harris County department heads make more than U.S. cabinet-level officials such as the Secretaries of Defense, State, Homeland Security, Commerce, etc., in the U.S. Government.
The President of the United States makes $400,000 per year. Members of the President’s Cabinet make close to $250,000 per year.
The salaries of the Harris County department heads vary. See below.
Harris County “Going for Broke”
The U.S. President supervises roughly 3 million employees (as of January 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Yet the head of Harris County Flood Control has roughly 300 and makes more money.
Her $434,137 salary is also $185,000 more than the U.S. Secretary of Defense makes. The Secretary of Defense oversees the nation’s largest department. He coordinates the national defense with more than 1.4 million active-duty service members and 800,000 reserve personnel.
In contrast, the head of the Flood Control District coordinates the design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure projects in Harris County. That’s certainly no small job. But it’s not nearly as large as the national defense.
The head of the Flood Control District got a raise this year of almost $90,000 – approximately one third of the total salary made by the Secretary of Defense. And far larger than what the average Houstonian makes in an entire year.
Is Harris County the land of opportunity or what!!!
The heads of six other Harris County departments received even bigger raises. Several received those raises despite severe, withering criticism of their performance in open Commissioners Court. For example…
Billions of Dollars Being Eroded by Inflation
The latest head of the Flood Control District has roughly $3 billion of 2018 flood-bond/matching-grant dollars at her disposal. Yet Flood Control spending has seen its fourth straight year of decline.
And if adjusted for construction-industry inflation, the spending rate shows she’s producing projects at a slower rate now than the Flood Control District did before flood-bond passage in 2018. Reportedly, her predecessors initiated virtually all of the HCFCD projects now entering the construction phase.
The loss of purchasing power to inflation means that many Flood Bond projects may never get built. And that will most affect people at the bottom of the county’s priority list, such as residents of the San Jacinto River watershed.
Pay More, Get Less
Overall, Harris County has increased taxes (rates x appraisals) 30% in the last two years. That’s 4-5X greater than the rate of inflation. And that included a 63% Flood Control tax increase last year.
So, how does the leader of an organization with plummeting performance get a salary increase for almost $90,000?
It’s all Monopoly money to the Democrats who control Commissioner’s Court. It’s not coming out of their pockets. It’s coming out of yours.
And they’re probably betting on the fact that you won’t realize you’re paying one of their political pals more money than the President of the United States to manage 10,000 times fewer employees.
But hey. We keep re-electing them. Maybe it’s time to get loud.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/19/2025
2731 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.