Road work is underway on a number of projects in the Montrose area, and officials with the Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone provided updates at an April 28 to meeting on several projects that are either underway or coming soon.
1. Waugh Drive, Commonwealth Street and Yoakum Boulevard reconstruction
The Waugh Drive and Commonwealth Street improvements—which included milling and overlaying to fix deteriorated streets, restriping of the roadway, adding wider and continuous sidewalks, reapplying pavement markings and pedestrian ramps, and spot fixes—are in the final stages of completion, according to the progress report. The project was aimed at making biking and pedestrian travel easier for residents. Once given a final approval, the project will be deemed complete.
2. Hawthorne Street and Woodhead Street reconstruction
Ongoing construction ties into a Neighborhood Safe Streets effort, which aims at making corridors more walkable. Goals for this project center on making streets safer for individuals walking to and from Lanier Middle School. According to the progress report, a road diet will be implemented, turning it from two lanes in each direction for vehicular traffic to only one, wider lane in each direction. The road diet will help incorporate a wider, continuous sidewalk, which will be 6 feet wide when completed. The project will also involve milling and overlaying over deteriorating streets, restriping the roadway, putting in speed cushions—as opposed to speed bumps—and installing curb extensions for bicyclists to create a low-stress shared roadway, according to the report. Construction kicked off March 23 and is expected to last 12 months.
3. Montrose Boulevard improvements
TIRZ officials said they are finalizing the roadway schematic and a drainage analysis is ongoing for a project that involves reconstruction between Dallas Street and Hwy. 59, one of the largest projects in the TIRZ's plan. The Montrose TIRZ board intends to hold a public meeting in June to get a chance to hear from residents. After the meeting, a design concept review will take place to incorporate feedback, then the design will be given back to the city of Houston before moving forward with the engineering design, officials said. According to the Walk Bike Montrose Project, once completed, Montrose Boulevard will have over 10 miles of improved sidewalks with fixed curb ramps.
4. West Gray Street improvements
This project includes sidewalk improvements on West Gray Street between Shepherd Drive and Dunlavy Street, along with a drainage analysis that has already been approved to the city of Houston, officials said at the meeting. The design is ongoing, but the TIRZ was awarded a grant from the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County to help fund the project.
5. Dallas and Mandell streets improvements
According to officials, this project will be similar to the Memorial Heights paving and drainage project. The drainage and traffic analysis have been submitted, and a public meeting for the design will be held in June. The Dallas work will run from Waugh Drive to Columbus Street, and the Mandell work will run from Hwy. 59 to Westheimer Street. The work will include installing a dedicated bike lane, replacing sidewalk, and milling and overlaying the pavement, according to the TIRZ's project list.
