Tag Archive for: UnionPacific

Demolition of Old Westbound Lanes Begins on Northpark

6/14/25 – In the NorthPark Drive expansion project last week, the traffic switch originally scheduled for 6/6 finally happened on 6/10. Since then, demolition of the old westbound lanes on Northpark between Loop 494 and US59 has begun.

In other Northpark news, contractors are laying rebar in preparation for a concrete pour between Public Storage and Quick Quack Car Wash.

And after an engineering review, Ralph De Leon, the Northpark project manager, says 100% of the water in the Enclave Detention Basin will go south toward the Kingwood Diversion Ditch and that it will not overflow into Northpark.

Finally, CenterPoint has removed an electrical pole that was in the way of boring underneath the UnionPacific Railroad tracks. Contractors have finished the receiving pit west of the tracks and have started boring for the second pipe that will go under the tracks. However, it appears there may be some utility conflicts in the receiving pit west of the tracks.

I took all the pictures below on Saturday, June 14, 2025.

Traffic Switch and Old Lane Demolition

The shot below shows how traffic was diverted from the old westbound lanes in the middle of the frame.

Looking E from in front of Exxon Station near US59. Note traffic swerving to left of the area where heavy equipment is perforating the old westbound lanes in preparation for their removal.

This close shot shows the actual perforations made by what looks like a hydraulic hammer (or giant punch) on the arm of an excavator.

Perforation of old concrete in preparation for removal.

After the old concrete is removed, new culverts will be placed underneath where it was. Then contractors will pour new concrete.

As you can see below, it looks like the perforation stretches halfway from Loop 494 to US59 as of Saturday 6/14/25. LHRA hopes to finish that work this coming week.

Looking East from over US59.

Getting Ready for Next Concrete Pour

Contractors have also finished placing rebar in new westbound lanes between the Quick Quack Car Wash and Public Storage.

Looking E toward Quick Quack from the Dunkin’ parking lot.
Looking W from Dunkin’ driveway toward Public Storage.
Wider shot looking W shows location of rebar in upper center (to left of traffic). New Enclave Subdivision within Kings Mill on right.

Enclave Detention Basin Controversy

In a previous post, I noted how construction plans for the Enclave showed its detention basin overflowing into Northpark during extreme rainfall events. That became a concern because one of the main goals for Northpark is to create an all-weather evacuation route for 78,000 people during high-water events.

Northpark Enclave construction plan detail
Detail from Enclave construction plans obtained via FOIA request from Montgomery County Engineer’s Office. Highlight added.

Montgomery County Precinct 4’s Victoria Bryant said that she was convening a review of the plans by the two engineering companies involved (for Northpark Expansion and the Enclave), the Montgomery County Engineer’s Office and Houston Public Works. She has not yet communicated the outcome of that review.

Separately, the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/TIRZ 10 conducted its own internal engineering review.

At the LHRA/TIRZ 10 board meeting on 6/12/25, Ralph De Leon, project manager for Northpark expansion stated that “It’s not going to overflow. 100% of the water goes south, ties into Kings Mill, and will go out (to) the Kingwood Diversion Ditch.”

Council Member Fred Flickinger added, “Now, obviously, all of it going into the Diversion Ditch creates another set of issues.”

It’s not clear yet whether the Montgomery County Engineer’s Office reached the same conclusion. No one has explained the reason for the notation on the plans yet.

Meanwhile, Enclave contractors have finished connecting storm sewer pipes to their detention basin.

Storm sewer pipe from Kings Mill now reaches the Enclave Detention Basin.

Bore Under Railroad Tracks

Side-by-side 5-foot steel pipes will carry stormwater under the UnionPacific Railroad tracks from the area west of Loop 494 to the east toward the Diversion Ditch by Flowers of Kingwood.

However, for years, a CenterPoint electricity pole blocked the path. CenterPoint finally removed it last week. That’s good news.

Looking west at start of twin 5-foot pipes that will carry stormwater under tracks. “Receiving pit” on far side of tracks.

Contractors have also apparently finished the receiving pit west of the tracks where the pipes will tie into a junction box under Loop 494 northbound lanes.

However, the “receiving pit” west of the tracks appears to have some utility conflicts of its own. See below.

Note one pipe under ladder and another cutting diagonally across receiving pit. LHRA notes indicate one is an abandoned water line.

Once UnionPacific approves a workaround, LHRA says crews will work 24 hours to finish the bores within two weeks.

As they say in construction, “it’s always something.”

Posted by Bob Rehak on 6/14/25

2846 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.

Northpark Construction Sequence Changing

8/18/24 – The sequence and timing of upcoming construction steps for the Northpark Drive Expansion Project is changing. Project Manager Ralph De Leon wants the public to know what will change, why and when between now and the end of the year.

All parties involved in the construction met last week and agreed to the plan outlined below. However, De Leon warned that it could still change. The new plan will start within the next two to three weeks. The steps outlined below should be substantially completed by December.

Unfortunately, they could involve fewer lanes for a period a time and will cause a total closure of Northpark for three days. The original plan kept two lanes of traffic open in both directions at all times. But that is no longer possible.

Reason for Changes

Due to highly publicized delays caused by utility conflicts, project planners started building pieces of the project out of sequence to keep crews busy.

“We are now out of sequence globally,” said De Leon. “That will never change. So throw out everything you knew in the past. We will publish a new schedule this week or next.”

A complex series of signal changes for traffic, railroad and pedestrian crossings also contributes to the schedule changes. And they will need to be built twice: once for temporary traffic and again for permanent traffic.

Electronics are driving the new Northpark construction sequence more than concrete at this point, according to De Leon. “Boring and installing communication cables to temporary, then permanent signals is the difficult part,” he said.  

The schedule changes will not affect what is being built, just when. Nothing has changed regarding the goals. Additional lanes and the planned bridge over 494 and the railroad will still be built.

New Sequence Affects Planned West- and Eastbound Feeder Roads

This new Northpark construction sequence affects how and when the west- and eastbound feeder roads will be constructed. The old plan called for both to be constructed at the same time.

Then traffic was to have been rerouted to the new feeders while contractors demolished the middle. However, that is no longer viable as you can see from photos below. 

Instead, Harper Brothers will construct eastbound feeder roads on the south side as they place culverts west to east along the north side. They will start at the Shell station on the northwest corner of Loop 494 and Northpark and work their way down to the area by the Quick Quack Car Wash.

De Leon’s goal is to keep the existing at-grade railroad crossing intact and use that for west bound traffic. The new feeder road on the south side will handle eastbound traffic. 

However, that could still change. “We could have to switch everybody (both directions) to the new feeder road. That would mean a single lane for both east- and westbound traffic until the second westbound feeder road is constructed on the north side.” 

Pictures Taken Friday 8/17/24

Looking W at Northpark Expansion Project. Previously, planners hoped to install drainage east to west. Now they will move west to east to accommodate UnionPacific which must reroute traffic during its busy season.
Still looking west over 494. Contractors are already beginning to work on drainage that will go under 494 and the railroad tracks.
Looking east. Two more feeder lanes will be built for east bound traffic south of Northpark.

UPRR will construct a crane on top of the rail tracks needed to install 200 feet of track panel. For that to happen they must rip out the existing rail tracks and reroute all traffic to rail lines that parallel the Hardy Tollroad.

The panel is in a single section that will stretch across ten lanes. UPRR needs that for track stability. However, its length will mean totally closing Northpark for three days.  

Still looking east toward Russell Palmer and Kingwood Diversion Ditch. Crews have finished installing culvert and are now building up the center. To see how high, look at the height of manhole covers already installed.

While painful now, when finished, this project will give Kingwood its first all-weather evacuation route. It could save lives in the future.

For More Information

For more information about Northpark Drive expansion and a history of the project, see these posts on ReduceFlooding.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/18/24

2546 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.

Looking N at S Pond
Closer 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 areas along 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.

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.

  • 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.
ditch one
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.

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.