3/10/26 – On Saturday, March 14, 2026, Round 6 of Median Madness will kick off at 8:30 AM and run till noon. The location for Round 6 will be along Kingwood Drive between Timber Shade Dr. and Cedarville Drive.
Location for Round 6
That’s three to four blocks east of Town Center between Foster’s Mill and Sand Creek.
Median Madness volunteers exemplify the ten two-letter words that make all the difference in the world: “If it is to be, it is up to me.”
Details of Event
For those who have never participated in a Median Madness event, you’re missing some fun. It’s a chance to make the community look better, improve traffic safety, meet new friends, and work out all your frustrations on those nasty vines.
Please remember to bring water, gloves, goggles and pruning or lopping sheers if you have them. Also, wear closed-toed shoes.
Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger’s District E staff have organized the event. Trees for Kingwood, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, H-E-B, and Chick-fil-A are sponsoring it.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Median-Madness-Round-6-Flyer-_2_.jpg?fit=1100%2C650&ssl=16501100adminadmin2026-03-10 17:35:532026-03-10 17:42:11Save the Date: Median Madness Round 6, Saturday, March 14, 8:30 AM
3/9/2026 – On Tuesday 3/10/26, the UnionPacific Railroad (UPRR) will install new controllers for the Northpark Drive crossing gates. That means the rail crossing AND the Loop 494 intersection with Northpark will be under manual control for most of the day beginning at approximately 8 AM.
TXDoT, UPRR, the City of Houston, and TIRZ-10/LHRA representatives will be onsite to supervise the operation.
Watch for Flagmen and Police
In place of the railroad crossing gates, two flagmen, two motorcycle police officers, and four other police officers will shuttle traffic through the intersection and across the tracks.
Exercise extreme caution and be prepared for sudden stops. Especially if you haven’t had your morning coffee yet.
Ralph De Leon, project manager for the Northpark Expansion project, expected the operation could go 6 to 8 hours.
The “cabinet” that will house the controller has already been installed and energized. See red circle on the right below. UPRR needs to move the electronics from the old cabinet on the left to the new one on the right.
Old cabinet (l) is blocking new surface lanes which run across concrete inserts in tracks.
Next, Harper Brothers Construction will finish the new surface lanes across the tracks (see below).
The new surface lanes will connect across those concrete inserts in the tracks. The bridge will cover the center over the tracks and Loop 494.
Additionally, work on temporary signals for the two new feeder roads will begin on March 16th.
Other Northpark News
Excavation of Entry Ponds Restarting
The dirt crew will continue the excavation and grading of the north detention pond for the next two weeks with cement stabilization occurring once final grade is achieved. Then they will install the pond liner and move to the south pond.
Looking E from over US59. More excavation will start on north entry pond (L) first. South pond (R) will go next.
Bridge Construction
Excavation of the retaining wall footings will continue next week east of the railroad tracks. Embankment operations for the bridge header will begin after the retaining wall footings have been poured, and the retaining wall panels have begun being set.
Looking E from over UPRR Tracks. 6-lane bridge will go in center. Two surface lanes for turning traffic will go on either side of bridge.Excavation work has already started on footings for bridge retaining wall. See lower L to upper Center.
A structures crew will mobilize to the project beginning next week to pour the retaining wall footings, then set and build the retaining walls on the east side of the rail tracks.
Medians: Watch Your Tires
Crews are installing “curb pins” in the median of Northpark east side of the railroad tracks. The pins will hold the curbs that separate eastbound from westbound traffic. Do not try to cross between barrels or you could puncture your tires. Cross only at marked crossing locations.
Anderson Road
On March 9th, Anderson Road (the road next to the tracks that splits off south of Northpark) will return to its final configuration. The temporary asphalt placed previously will be removed and the final grading of the ditch will be completed.
Surface Lanes Near UPRR Tracks
The paving crew will continue to work on the paving in front of Extra Space Storage to finish the westbound paving up to the UPRR right of way and in the center of Northpark in front of Sun Auto. See below.
Sun Auto on left. Please patronize local businesses during construction.
Starting on March 23, the paving crew will mobilize to the UPRR ROW to focus on the 4 quadrants of paving up to the UPRR tracks until completed.
A small storm sewer crew will work on the final storm sewer items until the next phase when the UPRR crossings and signals are completed, and traffic is moved to the permanent railroad crossings.
Sidewalks
The sidewalk crew will pave from Russel Palmer to Northpark Christian Church on the outbound side. Then they will pave sidewalk from Marco’s Pizza up to King’s Mill.
Streetlights/Signals
The streetlight crew will continue working on drilling luminaire foundations and luminaire poles.
First of many new street lights started going up along Northpark last week.
The permanent signal work at Russel Palmer Road will begin the week of March 9.
Supports for Bridge
Also starting the week of March 9, the drilling subcontractor will begin drilling the 30″ shafts for the bridge retaining walls. They will also pour concrete for the drill shafts.
3/8/26 – The “Levee Effect” is a term coined decades ago in flood mitigation. Some call it the “Safe Development Paradox.” It explains how total flood damage can rise even though flood probability decreases.
The Basic Mechanism
Think of the word “levee” in this case as synonymous with several forms of flood-control infrastructure including levees, reservoirs, and channelization.
After they are built, flood risk appears to be reduced. Land behind the protection becomes more attractive for development. And property values rise.
As population and infrastructure grow in the protected area, exposure to flooding increases. Then, when an extreme flood exceeds the design capacity, damage is far larger than before the protection existed.
Flooded homes once thought protected by Addicks Reservoir.
The federal government established the Mississippi River Commission in 1879 to deepen the river channel, improve navigation, prevent major flooding, and increase river-based commerce. Against the advice of experts, the commission recommended raising extensive levees along its channels to contain the flow.
After levee construction, large areas of historic floodplain became urbanized. Agricultural and urban investment skyrocketed.
Then came the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States. It inundated 27,000 square miles up to 30 feet over the course of several months in early 1927. About 500 people died and more than 630,000 people were affected.
The river below Memphis reached a width of 80 miles. But Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana were hardest hit. The flooding triggered a great migration from the south to large cities in the north and midwest.
Levees enabled urbanization of flood basins. Today, millions live below river level. Some areas have only a 100-year level of flood protection. Economic exposure reportedly exceeds $100 billion dollars.
Levees let large areas below sea level urbanize. When the levees failed in 2005, so much population and infrastructure had accumulated in the protected basin that the consequences quickly became catastrophic.
Eighty percent of New Orleans, as well as large areas in neighboring parishes, flooded. An estimated 100,000 to 150,000 people remained in the City, despite mandatory evacuation orders.
1,392 people died and damage reached $125 billion. That ties it with Harvey for the costliest tropical cyclone ever in the Atlantic basin.
Video on Levee Effect
This 6-minute, 47-second YouTube video illustrates the levee effect and shows how it can make floods worse by opening up floodplains and wetlands to development. It also shows how levees provide protection…up to a point. But when a storm exceeds that level, the consequences can become catastrophic quickly. It contains a mixture of footage from real-life flood events and table-top models.
Transforming Risk
Levees and other flood-mitigation infrastructure shift risk from frequent, low-impact “nuisance” floods to rare, catastrophic, high-impact events.
They hide the underlying risk by preventing small, regular floods that would otherwise remind people of the danger. And that can make the consequences of a major event far greater.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Flooded-Homes-Addicks-Reservoir.jpg?fit=1200%2C765&ssl=17651200adminadmin2026-03-08 22:00:342026-03-08 22:06:35The Levee Effect: How Flood Damage Can Rise as Flood Probability Decreases
Save the Date: Median Madness Round 6, Saturday, March 14, 8:30 AM
3/10/26 – On Saturday, March 14, 2026, Round 6 of Median Madness will kick off at 8:30 AM and run till noon. The location for Round 6 will be along Kingwood Drive between Timber Shade Dr. and Cedarville Drive.
That’s three to four blocks east of Town Center between Foster’s Mill and Sand Creek.
Median Madness volunteers exemplify the ten two-letter words that make all the difference in the world: “If it is to be, it is up to me.”
Details of Event
For those who have never participated in a Median Madness event, you’re missing some fun. It’s a chance to make the community look better, improve traffic safety, meet new friends, and work out all your frustrations on those nasty vines.
Please remember to bring water, gloves, goggles and pruning or lopping sheers if you have them. Also, wear closed-toed shoes.
Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger’s District E staff have organized the event. Trees for Kingwood, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, H-E-B, and Chick-fil-A are sponsoring it.
An adult must accompany children under 16. Here’s what to bring.
The rally point for Saturday still has not been determined, but should be soon. So check back.
Please come. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Bring your neighbors. As my grandmother used to say, “Many hands make light work.”
Past Median Madness Events
To see what past Median Madness Events have been like, check out these posts.
Median Madness 1
Median Madness 2 Rained Out (But the volunteer party sure was fun!)
Median Madness 3
Median Madness 4
Median Madness 5
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/10/26
3115 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Northpark Rail Crossing, 494 Intersection Under Manual Control Tuesday
3/9/2026 – On Tuesday 3/10/26, the UnionPacific Railroad (UPRR) will install new controllers for the Northpark Drive crossing gates. That means the rail crossing AND the Loop 494 intersection with Northpark will be under manual control for most of the day beginning at approximately 8 AM.
TXDoT, UPRR, the City of Houston, and TIRZ-10/LHRA representatives will be onsite to supervise the operation.
Watch for Flagmen and Police
In place of the railroad crossing gates, two flagmen, two motorcycle police officers, and four other police officers will shuttle traffic through the intersection and across the tracks.
Exercise extreme caution and be prepared for sudden stops. Especially if you haven’t had your morning coffee yet.
Ralph De Leon, project manager for the Northpark Expansion project, expected the operation could go 6 to 8 hours.
The “cabinet” that will house the controller has already been installed and energized. See red circle on the right below. UPRR needs to move the electronics from the old cabinet on the left to the new one on the right.
Next, Harper Brothers Construction will finish the new surface lanes across the tracks (see below).
Additionally, work on temporary signals for the two new feeder roads will begin on March 16th.
Other Northpark News
Excavation of Entry Ponds Restarting
The dirt crew will continue the excavation and grading of the north detention pond for the next two weeks with cement stabilization occurring once final grade is achieved. Then they will install the pond liner and move to the south pond.
Bridge Construction
Excavation of the retaining wall footings will continue next week east of the railroad tracks. Embankment operations for the bridge header will begin after the retaining wall footings have been poured, and the retaining wall panels have begun being set.
A structures crew will mobilize to the project beginning next week to pour the retaining wall footings, then set and build the retaining walls on the east side of the rail tracks.
Medians: Watch Your Tires
Crews are installing “curb pins” in the median of Northpark east side of the railroad tracks. The pins will hold the curbs that separate eastbound from westbound traffic. Do not try to cross between barrels or you could puncture your tires. Cross only at marked crossing locations.
Anderson Road
On March 9th, Anderson Road (the road next to the tracks that splits off south of Northpark) will return to its final configuration. The temporary asphalt placed previously will be removed and the final grading of the ditch will be completed.
Surface Lanes Near UPRR Tracks
The paving crew will continue to work on the paving in front of Extra Space Storage to finish the westbound paving up to the UPRR right of way and in the center of Northpark in front of Sun Auto. See below.
Starting on March 23, the paving crew will mobilize to the UPRR ROW to focus on the 4 quadrants of paving up to the UPRR tracks until completed.
A small storm sewer crew will work on the final storm sewer items until the next phase when the UPRR crossings and signals are completed, and traffic is moved to the permanent railroad crossings.
Sidewalks
The sidewalk crew will pave from Russel Palmer to Northpark Christian Church on the outbound side. Then they will pave sidewalk from Marco’s Pizza up to King’s Mill.
Streetlights/Signals
The streetlight crew will continue working on drilling luminaire foundations and luminaire poles.
The permanent signal work at Russel Palmer Road will begin the week of March 9.
Supports for Bridge
Also starting the week of March 9, the drilling subcontractor will begin drilling the 30″ shafts for the bridge retaining walls. They will also pour concrete for the drill shafts.
For More Information
For more information, see the project page on the LHRA website and the three-week lookahead schedule.
To ask questions in person, come to the TIRZ board meeting this Thursday March 12 at 8am at the Kingwood Community Center.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/9/2026
3114 Days since Harvey
The Levee Effect: How Flood Damage Can Rise as Flood Probability Decreases
3/8/26 – The “Levee Effect” is a term coined decades ago in flood mitigation. Some call it the “Safe Development Paradox.” It explains how total flood damage can rise even though flood probability decreases.
The Basic Mechanism
Think of the word “levee” in this case as synonymous with several forms of flood-control infrastructure including levees, reservoirs, and channelization.
After they are built, flood risk appears to be reduced. Land behind the protection becomes more attractive for development. And property values rise.
As population and infrastructure grow in the protected area, exposure to flooding increases. Then, when an extreme flood exceeds the design capacity, damage is far larger than before the protection existed.
Classic Examples
Mississippi River Levee System
The federal government established the Mississippi River Commission in 1879 to deepen the river channel, improve navigation, prevent major flooding, and increase river-based commerce. Against the advice of experts, the commission recommended raising extensive levees along its channels to contain the flow.
After levee construction, large areas of historic floodplain became urbanized. Agricultural and urban investment skyrocketed.
Then came the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States. It inundated 27,000 square miles up to 30 feet over the course of several months in early 1927. About 500 people died and more than 630,000 people were affected.
The river below Memphis reached a width of 80 miles. But Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana were hardest hit. The flooding triggered a great migration from the south to large cities in the north and midwest.
Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley, California
Levees enabled urbanization of flood basins. Today, millions live below river level. Some areas have only a 100-year level of flood protection. Economic exposure reportedly exceeds $100 billion dollars.
New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina
Levees let large areas below sea level urbanize. When the levees failed in 2005, so much population and infrastructure had accumulated in the protected basin that the consequences quickly became catastrophic.
Eighty percent of New Orleans, as well as large areas in neighboring parishes, flooded. An estimated 100,000 to 150,000 people remained in the City, despite mandatory evacuation orders.
1,392 people died and damage reached $125 billion. That ties it with Harvey for the costliest tropical cyclone ever in the Atlantic basin.
Video on Levee Effect
This 6-minute, 47-second YouTube video illustrates the levee effect and shows how it can make floods worse by opening up floodplains and wetlands to development. It also shows how levees provide protection…up to a point. But when a storm exceeds that level, the consequences can become catastrophic quickly. It contains a mixture of footage from real-life flood events and table-top models.
Transforming Risk
Levees and other flood-mitigation infrastructure shift risk from frequent, low-impact “nuisance” floods to rare, catastrophic, high-impact events.
They hide the underlying risk by preventing small, regular floods that would otherwise remind people of the danger. And that can make the consequences of a major event far greater.
For More Information
See these scholarly articles:
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/8/2026
3113 Days since Hurricane Harvey