Construction will soon move forward on a major flood control project in Harris County to widen an 8-mile stretch of White Oak Bayou.
Harris County commissioners approved a $20.5 million contract for construction services with Burnside Services Inc. at a Sept. 29 meeting, with construction expected to begin sometime this fall. The project, part of an ongoing partnership between the county and the federal government to reduce flood damage along the bayou, involves widening the bayou between Hollister Street in Houston and FM 1960 north of Jersey Village.
The project will also extend the White Oak Bayou Hike and Bike Trail in Houston from Hollister Street south to the Ranchstone Stormwater Detention Basin. The trail will be closed while construction is ongoing.
Construction on the project is slated for completion by the end of 2021. Once completed it, an estimated 1,500 structures will be removed from the 100-year flood plain. In Jersey Village, city officials have previously estimated that the bayou widening—along with a second, separate project to expand the city golf course's capacity to hold storm water—will together remove 62 homes from the flood plain within city limits.
