The Shenandoah City Council approved a construction contract for Pine Forest Drive, a stretch of road which will connect the Pine Forest Office Park development north to Vision Park Boulevard, at its Jan. 9 meeting.

The council unanimously approved the construction contract with GW Phillips Concrete Construction for about $460,000. Of the six bids received for the project, GW Phillips' was the only bid under $500,000. While the condominium developer will fund the majority of the project, a portion will be funded by the Municipal Development District.

Funding for that portion of the road must be approved by the MDD before construction can begin.

"It's something that has been planned for a while and it's going to open up traffic flow of the new development of Vision Park," Shenandoah Mayor Wes Stephens said.

Shenandoah Public Works Director Byron Bevers said the road stretches 200-300 feet and will be 28 feet wide, stretching south from Vision Park Blvd. to the Pine Forest Office Park condominium development west of I-45. Bevers anticipates the road project could begin construction as early as March and take about 120 days to complete with an estimated completion date sometime in the summer.

Pine Forest Office Park will be located south of Reliant Rehabilitation Hospital and will house several 5,000-square-foot office condo buildings for lease. Another commercial development currently under construction, Granite Vision Park, will be an eight-story, 200,000-square-foot office development off of Vision Park Blvd.

While timetables for the projects are unknown, Bevers estimated the construction of Pine Forest Office Park and Pine Forest Drive could be completed around the same time.

Shenandoah City Council also approved a special use permit for restaurant Twin Peaks, to be located at 18310 I-45, allowing the restaurant and bar to serve alcohol until 2 a.m. The restaurant's hours of operations when it opens later this year will be Sun.-Wed., 11 a..m –midnight and Thurs.-Sat., 11-2 a.m.