Tag Archive for: Loop 494

Kingwood Drive and Loop 494 Intersection Closed This Weekend

City of Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin announced this afternoon that the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will close the intersection of Kingwood Drive and Texas Loop 494 this weekend. The closure starts Friday evening, April 17 and, weather permitting, will last through early Monday morning, April 20.

Purpose of Closure

This is a bit off topic for a flood blog, but Kingwood Drive affects half my readers and 494 affects many more. Here’s what’s happening.

TxDOT will raise the intersection of Kingwood Drive and 494 with two feet of asphalt. The purpose: to remove the dip by the UP railroad tracks.

Weather permitting, construction should start at 9:00 p.m. on Friday. Crews will work continuously until 5:00 a.m. Monday.

Please watch for flagmen and orange traffic cones indicating detours. Detours at Crescent Springs, Butterfly Lane, Royal Forest and Northpark Drive are shown below.

For more information, contact TxDOT at (936) 538-3300.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/15/2020

960 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Porter Dam Rapidly Becoming Porter Trench

Two days ago, I posted about the “Porter Dam.” The dam was actually an undersized culvert under a road to nowhere that backed water up for blocks. After the December 7th rain, dozens of properties flooded. Yesterday, demolition of the offending culvert started. The demo gave residents an early Christmas present. I went by there again this morning to check the progress. I saw this.

As of Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018, at 10:15 a.m., the Porter Dam had turned into the Porter Trench. Excavation of the undersized culvert continued.

Hopefully, their removal, will eliminate flooding like you see below after the 4.5 inch rain we had on Dec. 7.

Flooding on East Knox in Porter near Loop 494 after a 4.5″ rain on December 7th. Caused by an undersized culvert that backed water up for blocks. Photo courtesy of Mike Eberle.

Mike Eberle of Mike’s Hobby Shop on East Knox sent me these pics at the end of Saturday. They show the progress that the crew made during the day.

Downstream trench at end of Saturday. Photo courtesy of Mike Eberle.
Mid-trench at end of Saturday.  Photo courtesy of Mike Eberle.
Upstream end of trench at end of day on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Mike Eberle.

It’s unclear at this time whether workers will install a larger culvert or just eliminate the Road to Nowhere altogether. I will continue to follow the story.

Street flooding, such as this blockage caused, can devastate homes and businesses every bit as much as river flooding. It only takes an inch of water to cause months worth of repair work.

This morning I learned of several more instances of tragic street flooding in Porter near Sorters Road. Apparently a broken or collapsed storm drain flooded the homes below repeatedly. Montgomery County has not fixed the drain despite repeated pleas from homeowners.

One home owner, a retired Marine, flooded five times in five years. His neighbors, a middle aged couple, flooded ten times in ten years.

Street flooding caused by another bad culvert. Photo courtesy of Tammy Gunnels.

The couple invested more than a quarter million dollars trying to flood-proof their home and virtually wiped out their life savings.

Let’s hope Montgomery County fixes that drain soon…as fast as TexDoT jumped on the Porter Dam problem.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/22, 2018

480 Days since Hurricane Harvey