Tag Archive for: De Leon

Northpark Crews Begin Pouring Concrete Monday, Road Narrowed

Northpark Drive construction crews have finished placing rebar in a 1000 foot long stretch on both sides of the entrance to Kings Mill. They will begin pouring concrete there on Monday, 9/16/24 at 3 AM. Concrete trucks will enter and leave the construction zone approximately every six minutes.

Because workers will spread the concrete next to the inbound lanes, traffic will be reduced to one lane until approximately 1 PM. However, both inbound lanes should open for the evening rush hour.

Rebar and forms ready for pour at 3AM Monday. Traffic on right will narrow to one lane to protect workers spreading the concrete.
Looking west from Kings Mill Entrance at rebar ready for concrete.

At this time, the construction team has scheduled additional concrete pours for 9/20, 9/27, and 10/1; times and dates subject to change.

Project managers evaluated all-night and all-weekend scenarios for pouring the concrete, but encountered legal restrictions having to do with worker safety and/or cost.

Back-and-Forth Paving Plan

The general plan is for crews to pour one side of one stretch of the road while prepping the other. After they finish the new middle lanes, the old outer lanes will be demolished one side at a time. They will reroute traffic to the middle lanes will reconstructing the old lanes.

At this point, neither inbound nor outbound traffic will be shut down completely, though it will narrow to one lane on the side where concrete is being poured.

Looking east at entire stretch of rebar on right. The next pour will be on other side of road.

More Visible Progress

Ralph De Leon, the project manager, emphasized that most of the wrinkles that the project experienced in the last year have been ironed out at this point. However, one small snag remains re: a switch of fire hydrants and buildings with commercial sprinkler systems on the north side of Northpark.

Several companies and a church are migrating to the City of Houston water system, and it’s apparently taking longer than expected for the City’s billing and meter installation department to catch up with the new infrastructure installation. Worst case: some businesses may get free water for a month or so.

De Leon asked for patience. “People don’t see all the work that’s going on underground, but that’s the real heavy part of the lift,” he said. “People will begin to see a lot more progress on Monday. The above-ground ‘flat work’ that everyone sees goes much faster.”

Major Steps After This

The area between the Diversion Ditch and Russell Palmer Road will be paved as part of Phase II, which includes everything up to and a little bit past Woodland Hills Drive.

Paving crews will next complete the new lanes between Russell Palmer and 494.

Looking NE across 494 and Northpark (right). First junction box has just been buried in lower left. Drainage team must next bore under 494 and railroad tracks.

Next, paving crews will turn their attention to 494.

Loop 494 will get the same alternate side of the road treatment in sections until finished.

Finally, crews will begin work west to US59.

NW corner of Northpark and Loop 494, looking west toward 59

The entry ponds will likely be among the last things completed.

In my last post, I alluded to a total shutdown of Northpark while UnionPacific installed new beds and track across the road. Originally scheduled for sometime in October or November, that will now happen in January or February.

It’s too early to tell when bridge construction over 494 will commence.

For More Information

For schematic diagrams of the paving plan, click here.

As paving moves east to west, crossovers will need to close temporarily. To see the schedule, click here.

For a three-week look-ahead schedule, visit the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority website.

Also, see these posts on ReduceFlooding for a history of the project:

Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/13/24

2572 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Entergy Makes Some Northpark Progress, but Significant Issues Remain

Entergy has made more progress on the Northpark Drive expansion project in the last two weeks than in the previous four years. But despite what you see in the photos below, significant issues remain to clear the way for the first all-weather evacuation route from Kingwood.

Some Progress, But…

Last week, Entergy, a $4 billion company in Texas, erected nine new power poles outside of the City’s right of way. This week, their contractor, Primoris Services, started the process of stringing wire. That’s good news. Really!

But unseen obstacles could still delay the project significantly. For instance:

  • Who will pay for moving Entergy’s ground-mounted transformer and associated power lines near the Exxon Station at US59? Entergy reportedly still wants the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority (LHRA) to pay for upgrading and moving the transformer and buried cables. LHRA insists that’s an illegal ask because it would constitute a gift of public funds.
  • More power poles remain near Loop 494 that will be difficult to move because of conflicts with new storm drains.
  • Entergy must tunnel under rail tracks.
  • Entergy reportedly still refuses to commit to completion dates for moving its equipment.

Will Entergy Beat Union Pacific?

If Entergy does not resolve issues near the railroad tracks before Union Pacific crews arrive to install new signals and improve the road bed, the project could be delayed years.

Union Pacific reportedly has two crews that rotate through 27 states handling such issues. If we miss them this year, the Northpark project goes to the back of a very long line, according to Ralph De Leon, Northpark project manager for LHRA.

Entergy has already blown a City deadline to move its equipment by March 8. So they have already missed a 30-day deadline by 42 days. But according De Leon, Entergy still refuses to commit to any completion dates.

Ray of Hope

According to Houston Public Works (HPW), Entergy has assigned a new project manager and team to the project. This could be a sign of good things to come.

HPW Senior Division Manager Patrick Nguyen says the City is working with Entergy to resolve easement issues that could result in construction delays and cost escalation. Mayor John Whitmire, who is committed to seeing the project through, has reportedly asked Nguyen to act as an arbitrator.

In an email received today, Nguyen said that “Entergy has assigned a new project manager along with a team to the project.” While diplomatically expressing hope, he did not elaborate further.

Progress Last Week

All nine poles erected last week had pulleys and rope or cables threaded through them when I took these photos today. According to one expert I talked to, crews will use the rope or cables to “pull wire.”

Close up (top left) of cables/ropes and pulleys that will be used to pull new electrical wires from pole to pole.

Compare old and new poles in lower left. Once wire is pulled to a pole, it will be attached to the tip of the insulator.

Moving the poles farther from the street will create room for a six lane bridge plus two turn lanes on each side of the bridge (to meet TXDoT requirements).

LHRA first notified Entergy to move its equipment in 2020. Entergy still won’t commit to a completion date.

The mess at 494

Other Northpark News

Contractors are smoothing out the dirt placed over the culverts between the Kingwood Diversion Ditch and Russell Palmer Road.

Looking west toward Kingwood Diversion Ditch from over Russell Palmer Road

Northpark will expand inwards. Contractors will pour two lanes of concrete in the dirt-covered area above. If I read the schedule correctly, paving in the area above could start within the next two weeks.

West of Russell Palmer (below), contractors buried almost another hundred yards of 6’x8′ culvert last week. Weather permitting, and if they can keep up that same rate of progress, they should be to the railroad tracks in another three months or so.

Looking west along Northpark. Last week, culvert crews were barely past the Shipleys Donut sign the lower right.

However, the culvert will not go all the way to the tracks down the median. As it approaches the point where the bridge starts to rise, it will veer to the right and go under the turn lanes where Entergy is moving back its poles.

For More Information

For more information about Northpark expansion, visit the project pages of the LHRA/Tirz 10 website. Or see these posts on ReduceFlooding:

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/19/24

2425 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.