Tonight, Harris County Flood Control (HCFCD) will discuss the results of a preliminary engineering review on the Kingwood Diversion Ditch at a virtual meeting from 6:30 to 7:30. The objective: to find the optimal alternative for:
Returning the Diversion Ditch to a hundred-year level of service
Pushing back the floodplain from homes and businesses
Reducing future maintenance costs
Controlling overall costs
Significant reduction in water surface elevation along Bens Branch and the Diversion Ditch.
For those of you who may not be familiar with ditch names, The Kingwood Diversion Ditch splits off Ben’s Branch just south of the new St. Martha’s Catholic Church, about a block north of the fireworks stand on Northpark (see below).
Where water gets diverted from Bens Branch (running diagonally through center of frame) in tree line. Diversion ditch center then goes under Northpark Drive, foreground, on its way to River Grove Park.
It then cuts south toward Kingwood Drive next to the HPD Fire Station, and then continues its way to the West Fork snaking its way through Trailwood Village and past Deer Ridge Park. It then joins the San Jacinto at River Grove Park.
White = Diversion Ditch. Red = Bens Branch. Green = Possible new outfall.
The Diversion Ditch got its name because it diverts water from Bens Branch (red above), which cuts diagonally through the heart of Kingwood. It therefore reduces flooding in all neighborhoods south and west of the red line.
That’s one reason why the Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis named it the most important drainage project in Kingwood. It affects more people than any other project in the entire area.
Features of Various Options
Features of the various options presented tonight will include:
Expanding conveyance of the Diversion Ditch
Adding a drop structure to reduce erosion
Creating a new outfall to the West Fork
New, wider bridges over the Diversion Ditch
Improved street drainage
Creating a natural stable channel design in certain areas with riffles and pools.
This is your opportunity to provide community input on the recommendations before final design begins.
How/When to Join Meeting
The Virtual Community Engagement Meeting will be held on:
Or by phone* at 855-925-2801 with Meeting Code: 6701
Organization of Meeting
The meeting will begin with a brief presentation to share project updates, followed by a moderated Q&A session with Flood Control District team members.
How to Submit Public Comments
Residents will be able to submit questions, comments and input before, during and after the meeting, which will be considered during project development. Any comments not addressed during the Q&A session will receive a response at the conclusion of the public comment period.
You may submit comments in any one of three ways from March 6, 2024 (tonight) to March 20, 2024.
On the Flood Control District’s website at hcfcd.org/F-14, or
Via phone at 855-925-2801 with Meeting Code: 6701
Any questions not addressed during tonight’s Q&A will receive a response from the Flood Control District after the event. Meeting information and video will be available on:
TxDOT, the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority (LHRA), City of Houston and Tax Increment Redevelopment Zone (TIRZ) 10 will solicit public comments at a Northpark Phase II Input Meeting, from 5-7PM Thursday, March 7 at the Kingwood Community Center.
A significant part of the effort to provide an all-weather evacuation route from Kingwood in the event of another superstorm, such as Hurricane Harvey.
Current Northpark Drive looking west toward 59. Major crossroad in center of frame is Woodland Hills Drive. Extent of project would go from bottom of frame to treeless area in distance.
Phase II will run from slightly west of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch to slightly east of Woodland Hills Drive. Part of the mile-long project falls in Montgomery County and part in Harris County.
Purpose of Project
The purpose of the project is to address current and increasing traffic congestion. Utility and drainage features will also be upgraded.
And to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, the project will include a new pedestrian underpass and 10-foot wide sidewalks that connect to the Kingwood trail system.
The TxDOT announcement provides a few of the details:
To improve commute times, the roadway will expand to three lanes in each direction and include turn lanes.
To improve safety, lane width will also increase.
The proposed reconstruction will include new signals at the Woodland Hills Drive and Hidden Pines Drive.
To improve drainage and make Northpark passable in high water events so Kingwood residents have an all-weather evacuation route.
No Home Or Business Structures Expected to be Impacted at This Time
TxDOT does not anticipate impacting any home or business structures at this time. But strips of property that front on the roadway will need to be acquired. For additional details, see this TxDOT page or a schematic drawing on this LHRA page.
Meeting Details
LHRA and TxDOT will discuss plans for the next phase of the project. It will reach past Woodland Hills Drive.
Thursday, March 7, 2024 from 5-7 p.m. Kingwood Park Community Center 4102 Rustic Woods Dr. Kingwood, TX 77345
Part of Northpark Phase II
The Northpark Expansion project will not only move traffic faster, it will create an all-weather evacuation route for 78,000 people in the Kingwood and Porter areas. During Harvey, other evacuation routes were cut off.
Pictures of Major Features
The pictures below show the way things exist now. Captions will describe the changes.
West is Up. Note Walgreens on south side of NP (top left) and Exxon on north side (top right).Three lanes of traffic will continue outbound and continue past bottom of frame inbound. Turning lanes widened and added.Pedestrian underpass will be added between the Walmart Parking Lot (right) on the north and McDonalds/Executive Barber Shop (shown on the left). Road will be elevated as over other underpasses in Kingwood.
The underpass will improve safety for thousands of Kingwood Park High School, Kingwood Montessori, Creativity Shell, and Village Learning Center students.
Looking W along Northpark. Elevated roadway and new bridges over Bens Branch by St. Martha’s (upper right out of frame) will improve safety during high water events.
In addition, the road will be widened to at least three lanes, from US59 until approximately 1,000 feet east of Woodland Hills Drive.
Who Should Attend?
Any whose evacuation route was cut off during Harvey
Anyone who commutes along Northpark
Parents of Kingwood Park High School Students
Business owners in the Northpark Place Commercial Association
Anyone who flooded along Northpark, North Woodland Hills
Anyone who flooded downstream because of Bens Branch
Anyone who flooded along the Kingwood Diversion Ditch.
That’s because Northpark drainage is intricately connected with Diversion Ditch and Bens Branch Drainage.
Your input is vital to ensure the project remains consistent with your needs and community norms.
Please come. Speak now or forever hold your peace, as they say in wedding ceremonies. Many will to have to live with this project for the rest of their lives.
In the past two weeks, construction activity for the Northpark expansion project has focused primarily on the ponds at US59 that will double as detention basins.
However, progress has also been made farther east. CenterPoint has been busy relocating gas lines. Contractors now have signed right-of-entry permits to UnionPacific (UP) property. And they have been busy installing a storm-sewer junction box in front of the Shell Station at Loop 494.
But the thing most people will notice this week is that two of the four outbound lanes on Northpark at 59 are now closed and will remain that way for several months.
Entry Ponds
I took all the pictures below during the last week of February 2024. For the first time, you can clearly see the outlines of both ponds. Contractors started on the north pond first. So, it is further along. But the outline of the south pond, ringed by transplanted trees, is now also clearly visible.
Looking N at S PondCloser shot shows three more decorative areas for plantings, one on each side of the triangle.Men working on foundation for retaining wall around one of the landscaping areasalong Northpark Drive.Reverse angle. Looking S at N pond.Retaining wall around area to be landscaped was just completed and contractors were removing forms for concrete.Pipe for storm drains is being stockpiled in North Pond.
As you can see from these photos, the sides of the ponds will slope toward the middle. Maximum depth for each pond will be about 20 feet.
According to Northpark Expansion Project Manager Ralph De Leon, excavation currently is down to about 7 feet max, the approximate location of the water table. So, the ponds will eventually get almost three times deeper than they are now. That’s a lot of dirt to move!
Contractors will use the dirt to fill in over the box culverts which will go down the center of Northpark. But because of several utility conflicts, placement of the box culverts had to be put on hold.
So, contractors are storing the dirt at the Eagle Sorters Sand Mine on the West Fork. It will be transported back to Northpark when needed.
Stored dirt (center) from entry ponds at the Eagle Mine on Sorters-McClellan Road.
Once contractors place the dirt over the culverts, they can then begin paving two additional lanes of traffic over where the center ditch used to be.
UnionPacific
Now that all the legal agreements are in place and engineering plans have been approved, work can begin around the UP tracks. It won’t happen immediately though. According to UP, rail traffic is now in its peak season. In the coming months, expect to see three types of activity.
Boring under the tracks to take excess stormwater from the entry ponds to the Kingwood Diversion Ditch and Bens Branch via Ditch One.
Placement of a one-piece concrete bed/continuous section of track over the project area with signal upgrades
Creation of ground-level feeder roads/turn lanes on each side of main lanes which will bridge over the tracks.
Looking E at Ditch One, Part of Northpark Expansion Drainage. Northpark is in upper right.
Northpark Expansion Project Lane Closures
Starting yesterday, 2/26/24, two westbound lanes on Northpark at 59 closed temporarily for reconstruction during the next few months.
During the first month, the existing left turn lane and one through lane will remain open. Then traffic will switch onto the newly constructed lanes, while the other lanes are completed. The contractor will install new storm sewer pipes and inlets along with new concrete roadway.
Looking N. Demolition has already begun on two westbound lanes.At 4 PM on Tuesday afternoon, OUTBOUND traffic on northpark was backed up past Russell-Palmer Road because of the lane closures.
Westbound traffic should expect delays and alternative routes are encouraged.
Judging by the outbound delay I saw today, I plan to avoid this bottleneck for the duration of the Northpark Expansion project.
Other Activity
The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority (LHRA) and City Councilmember Fred Flickinger are scheduled to meet with the City Attorney on Thursday, 2/29/24, to discuss the Entergy issue. After years of discussion, the utility has not yet begun moving its power lines and transformer out of the way.
LHRA will hold a board meeting on March 14th, in part, to discuss Entergy options.
On Friday, March 15, the City, LHRA and Entergy will meet. Hopefully, they will come to an agreement that doesn’t involve legal action, which could increase costs and cause delays.
Reminder: Phase II Meeting on March 7
Also don’t forget the public input session on March 7 from 5-7 PM. LHRA and TxDOT will discuss plans for the next phase of the project. It will reach past Woodland Hills Drive.
Thursday, March 7, 2024 from 5-7 p.m. Kingwood Park Community Center 4102 Rustic Woods Dr. Kingwood, TX 77345
Part of Northpark Phase II
The Northpark Expansion project will not only move traffic faster, it will create an all-weather evacuation route for 78,000 people in the Kingwood and Porter areas. During Harvey, other evacuation routes were cut off.
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/2024/02/20240227-DJI_0127.jpg?fit=1100%2C733&ssl=17331100adminadmin2024-02-27 16:51:072024-02-27 21:57:00February ’24 Northpark Expansion Update Including Lane Closures
Diversion Ditch Meeting Tonight; Northpark Phase II Tomorrow
Tonight, Harris County Flood Control (HCFCD) will discuss the results of a preliminary engineering review on the Kingwood Diversion Ditch at a virtual meeting from 6:30 to 7:30. The objective: to find the optimal alternative for:
For those of you who may not be familiar with ditch names, The Kingwood Diversion Ditch splits off Ben’s Branch just south of the new St. Martha’s Catholic Church, about a block north of the fireworks stand on Northpark (see below).
It then cuts south toward Kingwood Drive next to the HPD Fire Station, and then continues its way to the West Fork snaking its way through Trailwood Village and past Deer Ridge Park. It then joins the San Jacinto at River Grove Park.
The Diversion Ditch got its name because it diverts water from Bens Branch (red above), which cuts diagonally through the heart of Kingwood. It therefore reduces flooding in all neighborhoods south and west of the red line.
That’s one reason why the Kingwood Area Drainage Analysis named it the most important drainage project in Kingwood. It affects more people than any other project in the entire area.
Features of Various Options
Features of the various options presented tonight will include:
This is your opportunity to provide community input on the recommendations before final design begins.
How/When to Join Meeting
The Virtual Community Engagement Meeting will be held on:
March 6, 2024
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Join online at: www.publicinput.com/Kingwood2
Or by phone* at 855-925-2801 with Meeting Code: 6701
Organization of Meeting
The meeting will begin with a brief presentation to share project updates, followed by a moderated Q&A session with Flood Control District team members.
How to Submit Public Comments
Residents will be able to submit questions, comments and input before, during and after the meeting, which will be considered during project development. Any comments not addressed during the Q&A session will receive a response at the conclusion of the public comment period.
You may submit comments in any one of three ways from March 6, 2024 (tonight) to March 20, 2024.
Any questions not addressed during tonight’s Q&A will receive a response from the Flood Control District after the event. Meeting information and video will be available on:
This is in Addition to the Northpark Phase II Meeting
This is not the only flood-related meeting this week. So don’t get confused. There’s another one tomorrow night, March 7 from 5-7 in-person at the Kingwood Community Center to discuss Northpark Phase II. That one will be sponsored by TxDOT, LHRA, TIRZ-10, and CoH. Please join your neighbors for both meetings.
Posted by Bob Rehak on March 6, 2024
2381 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Reminder: Northpark Phase II Input Meeting Thursday, 5-7 PM
TxDOT, the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority (LHRA), City of Houston and Tax Increment Redevelopment Zone (TIRZ) 10 will solicit public comments at a Northpark Phase II Input Meeting, from 5-7PM Thursday, March 7 at the Kingwood Community Center.
A significant part of the effort to provide an all-weather evacuation route from Kingwood in the event of another superstorm, such as Hurricane Harvey.
Phase II will run from slightly west of the Kingwood Diversion Ditch to slightly east of Woodland Hills Drive. Part of the mile-long project falls in Montgomery County and part in Harris County.
Purpose of Project
The purpose of the project is to address current and increasing traffic congestion. Utility and drainage features will also be upgraded.
And to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, the project will include a new pedestrian underpass and 10-foot wide sidewalks that connect to the Kingwood trail system.
The TxDOT announcement provides a few of the details:
No Home Or Business Structures Expected to be Impacted at This Time
TxDOT does not anticipate impacting any home or business structures at this time. But strips of property that front on the roadway will need to be acquired. For additional details, see this TxDOT page or a schematic drawing on this LHRA page.
Meeting Details
LHRA and TxDOT will discuss plans for the next phase of the project. It will reach past Woodland Hills Drive.
Thursday, March 7, 2024
from 5-7 p.m.
Kingwood Park Community Center
4102 Rustic Woods Dr.
Kingwood, TX 77345
The Northpark Expansion project will not only move traffic faster, it will create an all-weather evacuation route for 78,000 people in the Kingwood and Porter areas. During Harvey, other evacuation routes were cut off.
Pictures of Major Features
The pictures below show the way things exist now. Captions will describe the changes.
The underpass will improve safety for thousands of Kingwood Park High School, Kingwood Montessori, Creativity Shell, and Village Learning Center students.
In addition, the road will be widened to at least three lanes, from US59 until approximately 1,000 feet east of Woodland Hills Drive.
Who Should Attend?
That’s because Northpark drainage is intricately connected with Diversion Ditch and Bens Branch Drainage.
Your input is vital to ensure the project remains consistent with your needs and community norms.
Please come. Speak now or forever hold your peace, as they say in wedding ceremonies. Many will to have to live with this project for the rest of their lives.
For More Information
For more information about the project including construction plans, visit the project pages of the LHRA/Tirz 10 website. Or see these posts on ReduceFlooding:
Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/5/24
2380 Days since Hurricane Harvey
February ’24 Northpark Expansion Update Including Lane Closures
In the past two weeks, construction activity for the Northpark expansion project has focused primarily on the ponds at US59 that will double as detention basins.
However, progress has also been made farther east. CenterPoint has been busy relocating gas lines. Contractors now have signed right-of-entry permits to UnionPacific (UP) property. And they have been busy installing a storm-sewer junction box in front of the Shell Station at Loop 494.
But the thing most people will notice this week is that two of the four outbound lanes on Northpark at 59 are now closed and will remain that way for several months.
Entry Ponds
I took all the pictures below during the last week of February 2024. For the first time, you can clearly see the outlines of both ponds. Contractors started on the north pond first. So, it is further along. But the outline of the south pond, ringed by transplanted trees, is now also clearly visible.
As you can see from these photos, the sides of the ponds will slope toward the middle. Maximum depth for each pond will be about 20 feet.
According to Northpark Expansion Project Manager Ralph De Leon, excavation currently is down to about 7 feet max, the approximate location of the water table. So, the ponds will eventually get almost three times deeper than they are now. That’s a lot of dirt to move!
Contractors will use the dirt to fill in over the box culverts which will go down the center of Northpark. But because of several utility conflicts, placement of the box culverts had to be put on hold.
So, contractors are storing the dirt at the Eagle Sorters Sand Mine on the West Fork. It will be transported back to Northpark when needed.
After Harvey, the Army Corps used the Eagle Mine as a placement area for sand and silt dredged from the San Jacinto West Fork.
Once contractors place the dirt over the culverts, they can then begin paving two additional lanes of traffic over where the center ditch used to be.
UnionPacific
Now that all the legal agreements are in place and engineering plans have been approved, work can begin around the UP tracks. It won’t happen immediately though. According to UP, rail traffic is now in its peak season. In the coming months, expect to see three types of activity.
Northpark Expansion Project Lane Closures
Starting yesterday, 2/26/24, two westbound lanes on Northpark at 59 closed temporarily for reconstruction during the next few months.
During the first month, the existing left turn lane and one through lane will remain open. Then traffic will switch onto the newly constructed lanes, while the other lanes are completed. The contractor will install new storm sewer pipes and inlets along with new concrete roadway.
Westbound traffic should expect delays and alternative routes are encouraged.
Judging by the outbound delay I saw today, I plan to avoid this bottleneck for the duration of the Northpark Expansion project.
Other Activity
The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority (LHRA) and City Councilmember Fred Flickinger are scheduled to meet with the City Attorney on Thursday, 2/29/24, to discuss the Entergy issue. After years of discussion, the utility has not yet begun moving its power lines and transformer out of the way.
LHRA will hold a board meeting on March 14th, in part, to discuss Entergy options.
On Friday, March 15, the City, LHRA and Entergy will meet. Hopefully, they will come to an agreement that doesn’t involve legal action, which could increase costs and cause delays.
Reminder: Phase II Meeting on March 7
Also don’t forget the public input session on March 7 from 5-7 PM. LHRA and TxDOT will discuss plans for the next phase of the project. It will reach past Woodland Hills Drive.
Thursday, March 7, 2024
from 5-7 p.m.
Kingwood Park Community Center
4102 Rustic Woods Dr.
Kingwood, TX 77345
The Northpark Expansion project will not only move traffic faster, it will create an all-weather evacuation route for 78,000 people in the Kingwood and Porter areas. During Harvey, other evacuation routes were cut off.
For More Information
For more information about the project including construction plans, visit the project pages of the LHRA/Tirz 10 website. Or see these posts on ReduceFlooding:
Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/27/24
2373 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.