Environment
Transportation
BY HANNAH BROL
BY JOVANNA AGUILAR
Work begins on $14.8M Mercer Stormwater Detention Basin
Harris County Precinct 3 launches new road de-icing method
In December, Arrowstone Contracting LLC began construction on the Mercer Stormwater Detention Basin in Spring, o cials with the Harris County Flood Control District announced in a Dec. 15 email. The details The Mercer Stormwater Detention Basin is located north of FM 1960, east of the Hardy Toll Road, south of Cypress Creek and west of the Memorial Hills subdivision. O cials noted approximately 512 acre-feet of soil and other materials will be excavated from the site. An acre-foot is the amount of water it takes to cover an acre of land one foot deep. The impact Upon completion, the stormwater detention basin is expected to provide approximately 166.8 million gallons of stormwater storage during heavy rainfall events, HCFCD o cials said.
To combat potentially dangerous roadways this winter season, Harris County Precinct 3 has plans to lay out brine solution that chemically breaks up the ice on the roadways, o cials announced in a Dec. 20 YouTube video. Crews used this new road de-icing method in mid-January amid freezing temperatures, Com- munications Manager Jeannie Peng said, and this is how Precinct 3 roads will be treated in future winter weather events. The details Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey said rather than laying out chat rock as they have done in the past winter seasons, Precinct 3 plans to lay out brine solution. The brine solution was provided by the Texas Department of Transportation through the County Assistance Program at no charge, Peng said. “During the last freeze season, we realized that with the size of our new precinct, we needed to
adapt to be able to cover over 300 bridges and 6,700 lane miles of roadway to keep them open and safe during winter conditions,” Road and Bridge Director Jennifer Almonte said. According to Precinct 3 o cials, while chat rocks provide traction control, brine chemically breaks ice as vehicle weight travels the wheel path on roadways and can be used as pretreatment to prevent ice from forming in the rst place. Did you know? Almonte said brine is cheaper, is applied more quickly, is more environmentally friendly and can be used to pretreat the roadways. During pretreatment rounds, workers spray brine solution around 20 mph while de-icing is sprayed at 5-10 mph to spray a greater volume of brine, Peng said. When de-icing is needed, crews run routes until temperatures rise above freezing. “Typically this means that each bridge will be sprayed every 12-24 hours,” she said.
Project funding The $14.8 million Mercer Stormwater Detention Basin is funded by portions of: • A $15.4 million grant from the U.S. Depart- ment of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program • $9.7 million from HCFCD’s $2.5 billion bond program approved by voters in 2018 What to expect HCFCD o cials said the contractor is planning to access the work area via FM 1960 or Lazy Ravine Lane in the Memorial Hills subdivision. Heavy construction equipment may be used throughout construction, and motorists are urged to be alert to truck tra c when passing near construc- tion access points and along truck routes. According to the Dec. 15 email, the duration of the construction contract is 348 calendar days.
Project details The project will consist of two basins—north and south—an equalizer pipe and an outfall pipe.
Outfall pipe: allows stormwater to ow from the north basin directly into Cypress Creek
MERCER BOTANIC GARDENS
Equalizer pipe: allows water to ow between the two basins
NORTH BASIN
SOUTH BASIN
1960
Project boundary
Precinct 3 crews lay brine solution ahead of freezing temperatures to de-ice roads.
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SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT COMMUNITY IMPACT
COURTESY HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT 3
SPRING STUEBNER 6603 Spring Stuebner Rd (281) 288-0239
NORTH LOUETTA 1614 Louetta (281) 350-1198 KUYKENDAHL 13313 Kuykendahl (281) 873-5220
LOUETTA 7314 Louetta (281) 370-1986
WILLOWBROOK 6927 FM 1960 W (281) 580-1734
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