According to press releases from the offices of Houston Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin and Adrian Garcia, Harris County Precinct 2 commissioner, the project began May 27.
The $8 million project will widen El Dorado from a two-lane to a four-lane road between Clear Lake City Boulevard and Horsepen Bayou.
When complete, El Dorado Boulevard will have four 12-foot lanes—two in each direction—with a 17-foot median. One side of the road will have landscaped areas over 40 feet in width from the road along with a 10-foot-wide hike-and-bike trail, according to documents.
Additionally, the project includes building a new two-lane, 150-foot-long bridge across Horsepen Bayou. There will also be modifications to existing traffic signals are Brook Forrest Drive and Clear Lake Boulevard, according to the releases.
“I am excited to partner with the city of Houston and City Council Member Dave Martin to see this project come to fruition,” Garcia said in his release. “This project will improve the mobility and safety in the region and provides us with an opportunity for future hike-and-bike trails.”
Martin also expressed excitement about the project.
“This is a vital road infrastructure project that will address mobility issues in this fast-growing region,” Martin said in his release. “With the help of Harris County Precinct 2, we are glad to officially break ground on this long-awaited project. A special thank you to all residents, community members and local stakeholders for providing comments and support that helped make this project possible.”
Originally, the project was going to being in February, but crews ran into snags that delayed the project.
Last summer, crews removed and relocated about 10% of the more than 1,000 trees along the length of the project to allow CenterPoint Energy to relocate power lines from the existing median to the west edge of the road, which was necessary to widen the road, according to previous reports.
However, CenterPoint determined not enough trees were removed, requiring Harris County to remove more trees into December and delaying the work.
The project is expected to take about 18 months, which puts completion around late 2021.
For more information on the project, call 832-393-3008 or email [email protected].
