On November 6th, the Humble ISD (HISD) broke ground for its new 6.9-acre North Agricultural Science Center at the intersection of Ford Road and Mills Branch Road, opposite the entrance to North Kingwood Forest.
Artists Renderings of new HISD Agricultural Science Center between Porter and North Kingwood Forest. Courtesy of Humble ISD.
Replacement for Flooded Ag Barn Near Deer Ridge Park
The new ag center will replace the existing Kingwood Ag Barn located on Woodland Hills Drive at Deer Ridge Park. That facility flooded numerous times since it opened in 1995. The most extensive flooding happened during Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
The new North Agricultural Science Center should eliminate worries of West Fork flooding due to its location on higher land. However, it is still near Mills Branch Creek which flooded Mills Branch Road during Imelda. See the flood map below.
Site of NEW ag barn where Mills Branch Road turns north into Ford Road in Porter. Yellow-green line is Harris/Montgomery County Line. The nearby floodway is for Mills Branch Creek.
Humble ISD received a FEMA grant of more than $8.8 million after the Kingwood Ag Barn flooded during Harvey.
“Hurricane Harvey flooded our current ag facility up to the rafters,” Dr. Elizabeth Fagen, Humble ISD superintendent, said. “Since that time, every time we see significant rain, our students are forced to evacuate a lot of animals to a separate ag facility.”
Aerial Photos
These photos show the new site being cleared on 11/19/2020. The first looks north toward the new HISD transportation center by the cell tower. That’s Ford Steel on the left and the northeast corner of Woodridge Village beyond that.
Site of new HISD Ag Science Center where Mills Branch Road (bottom left) turns into Ford Road (upper left)at county line.Reverse shot looking south. Mills Branch Road on right with entrance to North Kingwood Forest in upper right. The triangular area opposite the entrance to NKF is a detention pond.
Dirt from the detention pond is apparently being used to build up the site slightly to elevate it above the Mills Branch floodplain.
Details of New Ag Science Center
The center measures 29,000 square feet. It will hold:
70 pigs
70 goats or lambs
20 poultry and rabbit pens
24 cattle.
The new center will also include a practice arena, teacher offices, restrooms, a designated turnout area, comprehensive security measures, and expanded parking.
Veterinary schools often make Ag or FFA experience in high school a condition of admissions.
Larkin Le Sueur, Career and Technical Education Director for Humble ISD, said, “This new facility will offer expanded space for students to interact with their animals and also expand FFA opportunities for our district.”
The new center will cost $4.5 million to construct. HISD chose Stantec to design the project and DT Construction to build it. It will open in the 2021 school year.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/19/2020 with input from Humble ISD, Jeff Miller and Chris Bloch
1178 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 427 since Imelda
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/20201119-DJI_0265.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2020-11-19 15:13:592020-11-19 15:36:57Humble ISD Clearing Site for New Ag Barn Far from West Fork Floodway
Contractors have already removed all but a few square feet of the above-water portion of the mouth bar. Only a tiny strip remains that will be used for safety purposes during the next phase.
“The dredge operator is using this land mass temporarily for safety reasons. The next phase will be mechanical dredging working off of floating barges. In the event that during the dredging process, a barge is damaged, the equipment can be readily offloaded onto the Mouth Bar land mass, preventing water damage to this equipment. We anticipate moving into the new location beginning December 1st,” said Martin.
Next Phase Includes Another 260,000 CY
Martin says the next phase includes dredging north of the area just completed (the above-water portion of the mouth bar) to a depth of six feet. See the black cross-hatched area below.
They also could be looking for submerged trees. In a previous phase of dredging between West Lake Houston Parkway and the D1 marker below, dredgers ran into trees along the north side of the river, so they had to make up extra volume on the south side to meet objectives.
Photos Taken November 17, 2020
The Google Earth image below from last year shows where I photographed two dredges (D1, D2) yesterday in relation to where the mouth bar used to be.
Below: actual images of the dredging and dredge area.
Looking west (upstream) toward Kings Harbor and the West Lake Houston Parkway Bridge past D1.Looking north past first dredge (D1) toward the Deerwood Golf Course.Note the depth of water on the arm (approximately 10-15 feet).Looking south toward FM1960 over what’s left of the above-water portion of the mouth bar. Note the second dredge in the distant background.This image shows how shallow the water is in the area to be dredged. The birds are STANDING!Looking northwest. D2 in foreground. Note D1 barely visible in front of long peninsula at top of picture. Also note remainder of mouth bar at right.
In the picture immediately above, dredging in the next phase will take place in an arc around and behind that sliver of sand on the upper right.
Another Million Cubic Yards
Earlier in the year, the City announced that FEMA had agreed to dredge another million cubic yards. We do not know at this time where FEMA’s million cubic yards will come from. That might be yet another phase that dredges a channel between the dredges you see in the photo above.
If you live in Kingwood, you likely have noticed new construction in Town Center on the southwest corner of Kingwood Drive and West Lake Houston Parkway. For almost three years after Harvey, the Chase Bank on that corner sat vacant. Now it’s being replaced by a new freestanding CVS Pharmacy…but built up a little higher than the bank was.
Looking NW from over West Lake Houston Parkway toward the old H-E-B center in the background, new CVS under construction in foreground.
A Move Across WLHP for CVS
The new CVS Pharmacy will replace the CVS in the old Randall’s center across West Lake Houston Parkway. A CVS spokesman said the company hopes to have the new store open by spring of next year.
Looking straight down on the new construction. Kingwood Drive on left, WLHP at top.
The new CVS will definitely enhance the image of Kingwood’s busiest intersection. Unfortunately, two other shopping centers at that intersection have lost their anchor stores (Randall’s and the old H-E-B).
Rumors Regarding Randalls and Old H-E-B Centers
Merchants in the area say both shopping centers could soon be renovated. The old H-E-B center has a new owner who plans to reconfigure the shopping center and has reportedly been showing plans to prospective tenants.
The old H-E-B center on the NW corner still struggles without an anchor store. Only a handful of pre-Harvey merchants remain: Dominos, Hallmark, Hunan, Pet Ranch, and Subway. More than 30 stores are vacant.The Randall’s center lost its anchor last year. The CVS store that’s moving across WLHP is on the right end of the strip center.
Rumors also suggest that Randall’s may be split into two smaller stores, adding new life to that center.
Chase continues to offer service from two other locations in Kingwood. One at Chestnut Ridge and Kingwood Drive. The other just three blocks south of the new CVS location.
No doubt, some of the vacancies are due to general weakness in demand due to COVID. But I also suspect many merchants have taken a wait-and-see attitude before signing leases. They want to see if flood-mitigation efforts are real.
Town Center Flood Risk Reduction Since Harvey
The return of commercial activity to Town Center will be an even stronger sign of recovery. Since Harvey, flood risk in Town Center has been greatly reduced with:
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/20201117-DJI_0246.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=19001200adminadmin2020-11-17 17:53:342020-11-17 21:28:07One of Harvey’s Most Visible Scars Being Replaced in Kingwood Town Center
Humble ISD Clearing Site for New Ag Barn Far from West Fork Floodway
On November 6th, the Humble ISD (HISD) broke ground for its new 6.9-acre North Agricultural Science Center at the intersection of Ford Road and Mills Branch Road, opposite the entrance to North Kingwood Forest.
Replacement for Flooded Ag Barn Near Deer Ridge Park
The site lies less than a quarter mile south of the new Humble ISD north transportation center. And it’s within four miles of Kingwood and Kingwood Park High Schools.
The new ag center will replace the existing Kingwood Ag Barn located on Woodland Hills Drive at Deer Ridge Park. That facility flooded numerous times since it opened in 1995. The most extensive flooding happened during Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
The new North Agricultural Science Center should eliminate worries of West Fork flooding due to its location on higher land. However, it is still near Mills Branch Creek which flooded Mills Branch Road during Imelda. See the flood map below.
Humble ISD received a FEMA grant of more than $8.8 million after the Kingwood Ag Barn flooded during Harvey.
“Hurricane Harvey flooded our current ag facility up to the rafters,” Dr. Elizabeth Fagen, Humble ISD superintendent, said. “Since that time, every time we see significant rain, our students are forced to evacuate a lot of animals to a separate ag facility.”
Aerial Photos
These photos show the new site being cleared on 11/19/2020. The first looks north toward the new HISD transportation center by the cell tower. That’s Ford Steel on the left and the northeast corner of Woodridge Village beyond that.
Dirt from the detention pond is apparently being used to build up the site slightly to elevate it above the Mills Branch floodplain.
Details of New Ag Science Center
The center measures 29,000 square feet. It will hold:
The new center will also include a practice arena, teacher offices, restrooms, a designated turnout area, comprehensive security measures, and expanded parking.
Veterinary schools often make Ag or FFA experience in high school a condition of admissions.
Larkin Le Sueur, Career and Technical Education Director for Humble ISD, said, “This new facility will offer expanded space for students to interact with their animals and also expand FFA opportunities for our district.”
The new center will cost $4.5 million to construct. HISD chose Stantec to design the project and DT Construction to build it. It will open in the 2021 school year.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/19/2020 with input from Humble ISD, Jeff Miller and Chris Bloch
1178 Days since Hurricane Harvey and 427 since Imelda
Next Phase of Mouth-Bar Dredging Starting
The next phase of San Jacinto West Fork mouth-bar dredging should start December 1, according to Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin. This will start Phase 2 of a Texas Water Development Board grant announced in January of this year (although the phases were numbered differently at that time).
Small Strip of Bar Will Remain for Now
Contractors have already removed all but a few square feet of the above-water portion of the mouth bar. Only a tiny strip remains that will be used for safety purposes during the next phase.
“The dredge operator is using this land mass temporarily for safety reasons. The next phase will be mechanical dredging working off of floating barges. In the event that during the dredging process, a barge is damaged, the equipment can be readily offloaded onto the Mouth Bar land mass, preventing water damage to this equipment. We anticipate moving into the new location beginning December 1st,” said Martin.
Next Phase Includes Another 260,000 CY
Martin says the next phase includes dredging north of the area just completed (the above-water portion of the mouth bar) to a depth of six feet. See the black cross-hatched area below.
The numbers in the map above represent current depth in feet plus tenths of a foot.
More Mechanical Dredging For Next Phase
Martin says the next phase will consist of more mechanical dredging. That means more excavators working from pontoons. See pictures below.
Yesterday, two worked the edges of the area of interest.
A veteran dredger suggested they may be excavating test holes. Why? They could be looking to see how dense the silt is; that could affect the horsepower needed for hydraulic dredges in later phases.
They also could be looking for submerged trees. In a previous phase of dredging between West Lake Houston Parkway and the D1 marker below, dredgers ran into trees along the north side of the river, so they had to make up extra volume on the south side to meet objectives.
Photos Taken November 17, 2020
The Google Earth image below from last year shows where I photographed two dredges (D1, D2) yesterday in relation to where the mouth bar used to be.
Below: actual images of the dredging and dredge area.
In the picture immediately above, dredging in the next phase will take place in an arc around and behind that sliver of sand on the upper right.
Another Million Cubic Yards
Earlier in the year, the City announced that FEMA had agreed to dredge another million cubic yards. We do not know at this time where FEMA’s million cubic yards will come from. That might be yet another phase that dredges a channel between the dredges you see in the photo above.
Stephen Costello, the City’s flood czar, said in October that he was hiring an engineering consultant to determine the optimal course of action.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/18/2020
1177 Days since Hurricane Harvey
One of Harvey’s Most Visible Scars Being Replaced in Kingwood Town Center
If you live in Kingwood, you likely have noticed new construction in Town Center on the southwest corner of Kingwood Drive and West Lake Houston Parkway. For almost three years after Harvey, the Chase Bank on that corner sat vacant. Now it’s being replaced by a new freestanding CVS Pharmacy…but built up a little higher than the bank was.
A Move Across WLHP for CVS
The new CVS Pharmacy will replace the CVS in the old Randall’s center across West Lake Houston Parkway. A CVS spokesman said the company hopes to have the new store open by spring of next year.
The new CVS will definitely enhance the image of Kingwood’s busiest intersection. Unfortunately, two other shopping centers at that intersection have lost their anchor stores (Randall’s and the old H-E-B).
Rumors Regarding Randalls and Old H-E-B Centers
Merchants in the area say both shopping centers could soon be renovated. The old H-E-B center has a new owner who plans to reconfigure the shopping center and has reportedly been showing plans to prospective tenants.
Rumors also suggest that Randall’s may be split into two smaller stores, adding new life to that center.
Chase continues to offer service from two other locations in Kingwood. One at Chestnut Ridge and Kingwood Drive. The other just three blocks south of the new CVS location.
No doubt, some of the vacancies are due to general weakness in demand due to COVID. But I also suspect many merchants have taken a wait-and-see attitude before signing leases. They want to see if flood-mitigation efforts are real.
Town Center Flood Risk Reduction Since Harvey
The return of commercial activity to Town Center will be an even stronger sign of recovery. Since Harvey, flood risk in Town Center has been greatly reduced with:
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/17/2020
1146 Days since Hurricane Harvey