Tag Archive for: West Fork High School

New West Fork High School Opens

New Caney ISD’s new West Fork High School on Sorters-McClellan Road south of Kingwood Drive celebrated its grand opening on August 23, 2022. Here’s a video of the event. I’ve been following the construction of the school since early 2020.

Construction is the riskiest period in a project as we saw with the aborted Woodridge Village project. Sheet flow during heavy rains flooded Elm Grove Village and North Kingwood Forest twice in 2019, largely because of the failure to follow best practices. Contractors cleared 270 acres before building required detention ponds.

No Flooding During Construction

However, New Caney ISD built a large detention pond at the low end of the site when it started construction. They also planted grass in it right away. Luckily, TA DA, no one flooded during construction. And no major erosion problems were observed. Amazing how safety improves when you follow best practices.

Pictures of Completed Campus

Here are pictures of the school taken 9/4/22, Sunday morning when no students were around. The campus looks beautiful and will make a welcome addition for New Caney ISD students in the area.

Wide shot showing whole campus including detention pond. Looking NE across Sorters-McClellan Road toward HCA Kingwood Medical Center in background.
Closer shot looking in same direction.
Looking NW from SE corner of site over the detention basin.
Track, field events, baseball and a dedicated athletic facility on the left.
Looking directly west at back of new high school.
Looking south from north end of main complex.
Central open-air courtyard, a signature feature of the new school. Gives more classrooms sunlight.
Completing the circle. Looking NE again from SW corner of main building.

Historical Photos of Construction Progress

To look back at the sequence of construction photos starting in June 2020, see the links below.

Congratulations to New Caney ISD, its students, and all the neighbors who survived construction.

There’s still a little work left to do. The road in front of the high school is widening. A pile of dirt at the north end needs to be removed. And pipe, most likely for irrigation, still remains in places. But I think we can safely close the books on this project.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/4/22

1832 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Construction Update: KMS and West Fork High School

I last updated Humble ISD’s Kingwood Middle School (KMS) and New Caney ISD’s West Fork High School construction projects in mid-March. Since then, KMS contractors have continued work to finish the exteriors while beginning interior work.

Humble ISD has not updated its web page on KMS construction details, but some changes are visible from the exterior.

South side of building now almost all “glassed in.”

Ditto for north side. Roof is substantially complete, though some work remains on AC units.
West side looking east from over Woodland Hills Drive.
SW side looking NE. Most of the heavy equipment is gone.
Looking NW from SE side. Old building in foreground will be demolished to make way for athletic fields.
Easternmost building still has the longest way to go.

Humble ISD still indicates the school will open in 2022.

Compare Current with Previous Pics

See the progress of work to date by comparing these pictures with those taken in previous months.

West Fork High School

New Caney ISD posted this April update on work to date for its new West Fork High School. The high school is south of the HCA Kingwood Medical Center between Sorters McClellan Road and US59.

“Overall completion of the buildings and site work is 78 percent complete. The main building and athletic support facilities are dried in with portions of the main building being air conditioned. All interior partitions are complete with finishes such as painting and ceramic tile in progress. The electrical, plumbing, and HVAC rough-in work is 85 percent complete. The ceiling grid is being installed, allowing the installation of light fixtures, A/C grills, life/safety devices, data, and sound systems to progress. The artificial turf for the football field is 80 percent complete with turf at the baseball and softball fields to follow. The general contractor is distributing topsoil in preparation to begin irrigation and landscaping.”

Here’s what all of that looks like.

Looking SE across front of campus. Sorters McClellan Road is on right. West Fork is in background out of sight.
Looking NE from over Sorters-McClellan Road.
Field house and football field.
It’s starting to feel like fall and it’s not even summer yet. Looking north. Campus is out of frame on left. 59 is out of frame on right.
Looking NW across front of field house toward high school and Sorters-McClellan Road.
Looking N toward northern entrance off Kingwood Place Drive.

Compare with Previous Updates

To see how the project has progressed, compare these previous posts.

New Caney ISD expects to complete the project this summer. It is one of the District’s 2018 bond projects.

Impact on Flooding

Neither of these projects has yet had an impact on local flooding.

KMS built a temporary retention pond. When the old school is torn down, it will be replaced with a larger permanent pond.

West Fork High School already has a permanent pond. It was the first thing to be completed. Grass has been growing in it since March of 2021. This has reduced the threat of sedimentation during construction. I wish all construction projects followed this model.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/4/2022

1709 Days since Hurricane Harvey

New Caney ISD West Fork High School March Construction Update

One of the largest construction projects currently underway in the Kingwood Area is New Caney ISD’s West Fork High School, south of the HCA Kingwood Medical Center. New Caney ISD provided degrees of completion for all the trades associated with the project as of March 2022.

  • Athletic fields and structures – 70%
  • Concrete masonry 65%
  • Rough electrical – 80%
  • Rough mechanical – 80%
  • Rough plumbing – 90%
  • Insulation – 75%
  • Windows – 65%
  • Interior metal studs – 85%
  • Exterior paint – 50%
  • Curtain wall – 65%
  • Exterior storefront – 90%
  • Concrete paving, parking lot and driveways – 95%
  • Gas service – 90%
  • Water service – 80%
  • Sidewalks – 45%
  • Interior gypsum board – 65%
  • Interior paint 20%
  • Ceramic tile – 10%
  • Sorters Road storm drain – 90%
  • Rough grade – 75%

Aerial Photos from 3/13/22

Here’s what that looks like. Aerial photos show the exterior of the main building and athletic facilities rapidly nearing completion.

Looking NE at New Caney ISD West Fork High School. HCA Kingwood Medical Center is white complex in background near horizon.
Interior courtyard
New ball fields. US59 runs left to right across top of frame. North is left.
Field house, football field and track. Looking east toward US 59.
Looking SW toward Sorters-McClellan Road.
Runners take your marks. Set. Go!
The detention pond will need some erosion repair before this project is done.
Sorters-McClellan Road is being expanded to handle the increased traffic. Looking N from over detention pond.
Looking S at widening of Sorters-McClellan Road. Note proximity to West Fork and 59 Bridge in background.

Compare with Previous Updates

To see how the project has progressed, compare these previous posts.

New Caney ISD expects to complete the project this summer. It is one of the District’s 2018 bond projects.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/15/2022

1659 Days since Hurricane Harvey

New Caney ISD’s West Fork High School Blocked Out; Access Being Enhanced

Although much finish work remains, contractors have finished blocking out New Caney ISD’s new West Fork High School. Walls, structural steel and roofs are up. Some windows are in. Now they are widening Sorters-McClellan Road. They are also building another access route through woods that will connect to Kingwood Place Drive, the street immediately west of the HCA Kingwood Medical Center.

Photos Taken 11/6/2021

I took all of the shots below on November 6, 2021, with the exception of the last one from November a year ago.

New Caney ISD West Fork High School Construction as of 11/6/2021. Looking NE from over Sorters-McClellan Road toward HCA Kingwood Medical Center and Insperity in top center.
Looking south from over Sorters-McClellan Road, which is apparently being widened in front of the high school and then some. Note the wetlands and cypress trees in the upper right.
Looking north from over detention pond at south end of campus. I-69 in upper right.
Fieldhouse, track and football field.
New access road through woods will connect with Kingwood Place Drive
Looking south. Note windows being installed in center.
Looking SE. Much sitework remains.
From a higher altitude, you can see the proximity to the San Jacinto West Fork. From the upper left, it curves around the large pond then becomes visible again to the left of the sand mine in the upper right.

Wetlands Gone Forever

From US Fish and Wildlife Service Wetlands Mapper. Green areas are/were freshwater forested/shrub wetlands. Blue/gray areas are freshwater ponds. High school site is in center of frame. Image taken shortly after clearing. Note large area of former wetlands where athletic fields will be.

I’m sorry to see the wetlands go, but now that they’re gone, I want to see them complete the drainage for this campus ASAP to make sure everything gets channeled into the detention pond. That will minimize the chance of flooding neighbors.

Progress in One Year

New Caney ISD has posted an update on construction that indicates the percentage of completion for each of the project components as of October 29.

It was just a year ago, that this site was virtually nothing but dirt. Contractors had just started pouring concrete for the first parking pad.

From Nov. 13, 2020.

New Caney ISD expects to finish construction by the summer of 2022.

General plan for New Caney High School #3

Posted by Bob Rehak on November 8, 2021

1532 Days since Hurricane Harvey

Education Going Higher; Construction Updates on Two New Schools

Two new schools in the Kingwood area are building up, not out. Hopefully, this trend will, in a small way, reduce the percentage of impervious cover and create room for detention ponds to capture stormwater runoff.

Earlier this week, I photographed Kingwood Middle School and West Fork High School construction. As of mid-August, the structural steel work for both is almost complete.

Kingwood Middle School Replacement

The site looks crowded now, but when the new three story facility is complete, athletic fields and a giant detention pond will replace the old facility.

Looking west toward Woodland Hills Drive. KMS Construction as of mid-August 2021
Looking east from over Woodland Hills
This view looking north makes it easy to compare the height of the old and new buildings.
The structural steel work has reached its eastern limit.

To see the progress, compare the pictures above to those in previous posts.

Humble ISD has set the target opening date of the new KMS for 2022.

New Caney ISD West Fork High School

Several weeks ago, New Caney ISD named its third high school the West Fork High School. It too will be a three story structure, and is going up between Sorters-McClellan Road and US59 south of Kingwood Drive.

Looking NNE over the new campus toward Kingwood Medical Center. Insperity, and Kingwood Drive. US59 in upper right.
Wider shot looking NNW toward the West Fork shows a large detention pond in the foreground is now grassed in. However, note sediment entering the pond through storm sewers that drain the site.
Looking SW toward Sorters-McClellan Road and West Fork. River is mostly hidden behind trees. For reference, note Costco in upper left.

Note the football field and track taking shape in the left middle of the frame and the field house still going up next to it.

To see the progress, compare the pictures in these posts:

New Caney ISD expects to complete construction by the summer of 2022.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 8/20/2021

1452 Days since Hurricane Harvey

New Caney ISD’s New West Fork High School Taking Shape

Between US59 and Sorters-McClellan Road, a few blocks south of Kingwood Drive, New Caney ISD High School #3 is finally taking shape. And it now has an official name: West Fork High High School.

On January 1, 2021, contractors were just starting to pour concrete for the foundations and parking lots. According to the New Caney ISD’s June update:

  • Site work storm drainage is 95 percent complete
  • Sanitary sewer system – 85 percent.
  • Electrical system – 98 percent.
  • Water system – 90 percent.
  • Building concrete slab – 90 percent.
  • Form and pour tilt-up panels – 99 percent.
  • Erect panels – 95 percent.
  • Structural steel – 55 percent.
  • Metal decking – 20 percent.
  • Concrete masonry unit (cinder block) masonry – 10 percent.

Aerial Photos Taken 7.12.21

Here’s how all that looked on the afternoon of July 12, 2021.

Looking NE from over Sorters-McClellan Road toward Kingwood Medical Center and Insperity (top center).
Looking east toward Field House and where playing fields will go just beyond it. US59 and Lowe’s in background.
Looking south at entire site. Sorters-McClellan Road on right. US59 on left and top.
A peak into New Caney ISD’s West Fork High School three-story structures
Looking north at entire site. Huge detention pond in foreground.
Looking North. Corrugated metal installed as base for roofing on four buildings.

Site Plan, Architectural Renderings for New Caney ISD West Fork High School

Here’s how it should all look when finished.

Architectural Rendering courtesy of New Caney ISD.
Architectural Rendering courtesy of New Caney ISD.
Architectural Rendering courtesy of New Caney ISD.
General plan for New Caney High School #3

New Caney ISD expects to finish construction on the 60-acre site in the summer of 2022. The site is in Montgomery County, but also the City of Houston’s Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction.

Detention Pond Requirements

The dry-bottom detention pond takes up approximately 5 of the 60 acres – or one twelfth of the site. Assuming it’s 12 feet deep, it would hold a foot of rain falling on the entire site. The new minimum recommendation for a site this size in Harris County and the City is .65 acre feet of detention per acre. That would be about 40 acre-feet of detention, which a pond 8 feet deep would hold.

Because the construction site is closed, and the plans I have don’t specify depth, it’s hard to say exactly how much capacity the detention pond has. But I’m guessing it’s deep enough to meet the new minimum requirements under Atlas 14. I say that judging by the height of the pond walls compared to the pipes leading into it.

I would expect no less from a public school system.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 7/12/2021

1413 Days after Hurricane Harvey