The Northpark Drive Overpass Project focuses on the portion of the road between Hwy. 59 and Russell Palmer Road. It will expand the road to six lanes, add an overpass over the Union Pacific Corp. railroad at Loop 494 and create 10-foot pathways on the north and south sides of the road, according to Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority officials.
The $39.9 million Phase 1 is paid for by the LHRA—which oversees property tax revenue collected in Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone 10—as well as about $15.5 million from the city of Houston. LHRA officials said the project will reduce congestion and enhance safety in the Kingwood area.
Jessica Beemer, chief of staff for Houston City Council Member Dave Martin, said at a Dec. 5 BizCom meeting the roadway will also serve as the area’s first official emergency evacuation route, as it will be elevated above the 500-year flood plain.
“We know that Kingwood Drive floods; we know that Northpark Drive floods; and Councilman Martin was adamant on making sure that if we were going to widen this roadway, it needed to be safe in all weather,” Beemer said.
Phase 2, known as the Northpark Reconstruction Project, will be completed by 2023. The phase—which expands the road between Russell Palmer Road and Woodland Hills Drive—will cost roughly $28.4 million and is funded by federal moneys from the Houston-Galveston Area Council.
The LHRA is hosting an open house Feb. 6 at the Kingwood Community Center at 4102 Rustic Woods Drive, Kingwood, from 5-8 p.m. to allow local residents the opportunity to get information on the project and ask questions.
Another transportation project to follow in 2020
Loop 494 expansion projectThe Texas Department of Transportation began expanding Loop 494 between Sorters McClellan Road and Northpark Plaza Drive from two to four lanes in July. TxDOT began work on Phase 2 of the project in December, which will include storm sewer work and extend the pavement on the west side of the road.
Timeline: July 2019-third quarter 2021
Cost: $14.3 million
Funding source: TxDOT
This article ran in the January 2020 edition of Lake Houston, Humble and Kingwood. The full e-edition will be available on Jan. 6
