What's happening?
The total closure is necessary to allow the Union Pacific Railroad Corp. to safely remove and replace 200 feet of track panel at the railroad crossing at Northpark Drive, said Ralph De Leon, Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority and Tax Increment Reinvest Zone No. 10 administrator, in a Feb. 11 email.
"When they are done, there will be two additional roadway crossings where the two feeder roads will be, plus the two 10-foot multi-use pathways," De Leon said in a Feb. 11 email. "The existing roadway crossing will be underneath a six-lane bridge deck so traffic will access Loop 494 on dedicated westbound and dedicated eastbound feeder roads that will be build on both sides of the bridge. Plus, we are adding two pedestrian/bike lanes on each side of the feeder roads. Right now, there is not roadway crossings where the feeder roads or the sidewalks will be—that's the part they are adding."
Officials noted motorists should use the following roadways as a detour during the Northpark Drive closure: East Knox Drive, Highway 59, Kingwood Drive and Woodland Hills Drive.
Something to note
The total closure is coming on the heels of recent safety concerns associated with ongoing construction along Northpark Drive, De Leon said in a Feb. 4 email.
"People are beginning to ignore our traffic control devices and there [have] been multiple traffic accidents lately," De Leon said. "We want people to be safe and we need people to be alert and slow down within the limits of the construction zone."
De Leon said in hopes of increasing safety in the construction zone, the Houston Police Department has increased patrols in the area.
Some context
Work continues on the Northpark Drive overpass project, which began in April 2023 and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2026. The $76.8 million project includes the construction of an overpass over the railroad tracks and Loop 494 along with westbound and eastbound frontage roads beside the overpass. The project will also widen Northpark Drive between Hwy. 59 and the overpass.
Adjacent to the overpass project is the Northpark Drive reconstruction project, a $72.7 million project that will expand Northpark Drive from four to six lanes between Woodland Hills Drive and Russell Palmer Road. The project will also replace both bridges at the Kingwood diversion ditch and the crossing at Ben's Branch, and install drainage infrastructure along the roadway. De Leon said Federal Highway Administration funding for this project is programmed for the first quarter of 2028.
To view the full project schematic, click here. To keep up with project updates, click here.
Wesley Gardner contributed to this report.
