Tag Archive for: Loop 494

More of Old Northpark Drive Disappears

1/23/25 – In an effort to build the first all-weather evacuation route from Kingwood along Northpark Drive, contractors this week took a brief break – for the weather. But today, they were back at it. Here’s where things stand in the last full week of January.

Demolition, Drainage and Weather Delay

The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 has resumed demolishing more of the old Northpark Drive pavement. Contractors already demolished and removed the old northbound lanes on Loop 494 south of Northpark. This afternoon, they were busy scraping away the old eastbound lanes on Northpark itself between the entrance to Kings Mill and Russell Palmer Road.

In other news:

  • Installation of culverts on the north side of Northpark has almost reached the UnionPacific Railroad tracks.
  • A concrete pour between Loop 494 and US59 was only partially completed before the big freeze. It was paused, but rebar is ready when the temperature becomes warm enough to pour concrete again. The ideal temperature for safely pouring concrete is typically between 50°F and 70°F.

Pictures Taken 1/23/25

Here are pictures of the progress taken this afternoon.

Looking east from in front of Northpark Christian Church. Old lanes have been demolished and removed all the way to Russell Palmer Road.
Reverse angle from same location. Demolition extends to Kings Mill entrance.
Drainage on outbound Northpark now extends almost to UPRR tracks visible at top of frame.
Looking South at Loop 494 northbound lanes, also demolished.

Only one of two westbound lanes were poured before cold weather set in.

But another is ready to go when temperatures improve.

Coming Soon

In the next couple weeks, the look-ahead schedule posted on the LHRA website shows that, weather permitting:

  • As soon as the main drainage reaches the UPRR, crews will drop back and begin working on laterals to businesses.
  • After the eastbound roadway is removed, a small storm sewer crew will begin the installation of laterals to the new inlets at the new curb line.
  • Paving crews will continue westbound work between 59 and Loop 494.
  • Crews will demolish the Northbound lanes on Loop 494 north of Northpark.

For More Information

See the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority project web pages. For a history of the project, see these select posts on ReduceFlooding.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 1/23/25

2704 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Northpark, Loop 494 Lane Switches Happen Tonight

12/19/24 – Northpark and Loop 494 lane switches happen tonight to accommodate new construction. Two large lane switches will begin at 9PM.

One will be on the eastbound lanes between Kings Mill and the eastern end of the project at the Kingwood Diversion Ditch. The second will be on Loop 494 about a block north and south of the Northpark intersection.

In both areas, Harper Brothers Construction will switch traffic to new or temporary lanes to accommodate demolition of the old lanes, installation of drainage, and reconstruction of new lanes.

The project has two overall goals: accommodate increased traffic and create an all-weather evacuation route for 78,000 Kingwood residents when floods cut off other exits.

Eastbound NorthPark Drive Traffic Switch

Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority’s (LHRA’s) contractor, Harper Brothers Construction will shift east bound NorthPark Drive traffic from the existing eastbound lanes to the newly constructed center lanes.  The shift of eastbound traffic to the center lanes will occur between Kings Mill Park Drive and the Kingwood diversion ditch, approximately 0.3 miles east of Russell Palmer Road. 

No new changes to the westbound traffic will occur during this phase. The contractor will be installing new storm sewer pipes and inlets along the south side of NorthPark Drive along with new concrete roadway. 

This shift is planned to last approximately 6 months.

For a printable map of the lane changes, see this PDF.

The pictures below may help you visualize the changes coming tonight.

Looking east from near Kings Mill Entrance. Lanes on right will be closed off and traffic diverted to center. Italianos is just out of frame on right.
Eastbound traffic will continue in the center lanes past Russell Palmer Road.
Eastbound traffic will merge back onto the existing lanes between the large dirt pile on left and Jiffy Lube, lower right. Kingwood Diversion Ditch parallels tree line at top of frame.

Loop 494 Traffic Switch:

Harper Brothers will also shift traffic from the east side of Loop 494 to the newly constructed concrete pavement on the west side.  This shift of traffic to the newly constructed concrete lanes will occur between Northpines Drive and the east entrance to Kroger, approximately 0.2 Miles north of Northpark Drive.

This shift will last approximately four months while the contractor installs new storm sewer pipes and inlets along the east side of Loop 494, and new concrete roadway. 

Here’s a second high-resolution, printable map of the lane changes on 494. See this PDF.

This photo may help you visualize the changes.

Looking S along Loop 494 across Northpark. Traffic on the gray, older roadbed on left will shift to the new concrete on right from the foreground, all the way to the top of the frame where road narrows.

One thing to note re: Loop 494. Southbound traffic turning west onto Northpark will have a dedicated right-hand turn lane separate from the southbound lanes. That was not there before. 

Traffic will shift left/west to new lanes along the red line while existing lanes are reconstructed.

I would definitely avoid these areas tonight as contractors erect new traffic barriers. And use extra caution in coming days as drivers get used to the changes.

For More Information

The Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority offers a 3-week look-ahead schedule here.

For a history of the project, see these select ReduceFlooding posts.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 12/19/24 at 2PM

2669 Days since Hurricane Harvey

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