TRANSPORTATIONUPDATES Delays stunt new street rehab initiative
COMPILED BY HANNAH ZEDAKER
ONGOING PROJECTS
ROADWAY TO PROGRESS Some City Council districts saw more miles of street repairs completed in fiscal year 2020-21 than others, according to data from Houston Public Works.
WOODLAND HILLS DR.
UNION PACIFIC CORP. RAILROAD
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS
STREET REPAIRS
BY EMMA WHALEN
Total improvements planned for FY 2020-21 Total improvements completed or in progress in FY 2020-21
In the inaugural address for his second term in January 2020, Mayor Sylvester Turner promised Houstonians would see “noticeable improvements” in the quality of city streets by the end of 2023. By the end of his term’s first year, however, many of the street rehabilitation projects planned throughout the city had been delayed. “There were contractor staffing shortages and supply shortages, and in the districts where projects did get completed, it was because they were already underway,” said Erin Jones, spokesperson for Houston Public Works. Progress varied widely between districts. District D, which covers Third Ward, Sunnyside and much of South Houston, for example, saw 88 lane miles of improvements completed within the fiscal year. District E, however, which covers the Clear Lake, Kingwood and Lake
N P K W Y .
E
59
99 TOLL
45
N
1960
100
290
ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF JULY 16. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT SKLNEWS@COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM. Lockwood Road expansion A project to expand Lockwood Road between Beltway 8 and the Union Pacific Corp. railroad from two to four lanes has been paused while county officials review the potential to modify the design, said Victoria Bryant, assis- tant director of Harris County Precinct 4’s Infrastructure Division. Construc- tion on the project, which was initially slated to begin in the third quarter of 2020, was previously delayed due to utility conflicts. The project was orig- inally expected to cost $2.32 million and take nine months to complete. Timeline: TBD Cost: TBD Funding sources: Harris County Precinct 4, McCord Development
0.6 lane miles completed out of 28
40 20 80 60
H
B
A
C
G
10
610
F
J
I
K D
E
0 A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H J I
K
288
N
City Council districts
SOURCE: HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Houston areas saw 0.6 lane miles of improvements completed. The public works department originally planned to cover 28 lane miles in District E. The discrepancies were caused by a number of factors, Jones said. In some districts, including District D, several projects were already under- way and close to completion prior to fiscal year 2020-21. In District E, more of the roadways are made from
concrete than asphalt. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, concrete supply issues had a disproportionate effect on the district, Jones said. “They will get an increased allot- ment for the next fiscal year as well,” she said. As the city moves forward with the initiative, incomplete projects were rolled over to FY 2021-22, which began July 1.
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