With the installation of water pipelines now in full swing along Research Forest Drive, the San Jacinto River Authority is beginning to make its way down Grogan's Mill Road in preparation for more lane closures. The construction, pipeline installations and traffic diversions are all because of SJRA's Groundwater Reduction Plan, a response to a statewide mandate that requires communities to lessen their reliance on groundwater by 30 percent by 2016.
To accommodate the pipeline installation, a 1-mile stretch of the southbound lanes on Grogan's Mill Road from Woodlands Parkway to South Millbend Drive is closed until at least December.
"In preparation for future lane closures and traffic diversion, we'll be moving all traffic to the northbound side," said Mark Smith, GRP project coordinator. "The pipe will go under the current lanes, and the SJRA will replace all the pavement on that side of the road."
Construction along the 1-mile stretch of Grogan's Mill will cross two intersections: Buckthorne Place and South Millbend Drive. Smith said both northbound and southbound lanes will be open to allow access to those roads, which includes entry into the Grogan's Mill Village Center.
Smith said the private entry into the Grogan's Mill Village Center that features a decorative archway will be closed.
"Anywhere there is an intersection those lanes will be left open," Smith said.
Ronda Trow, public relations manager for the SJRA, said the construction project should be completed by December, with the southbound lanes re-opening in January.
"Then we'll be working on the north side of Grogan's Mill up until the spring, and then we're done," she said.
The SJRA's new water transmission system includes more than 55 miles of new pipeline throughout South Montgomery County, as well as 16 new water plants in The Woodlands, Conroe, Oak Ridge North and along the Rayford Road corridor. The $25 million project also includes construction of a new surface water treatment plant on the southern edge of Lake Conroe, where water will be treated before it is distributed throughout the county.