Three Missouri City development projects, including the long-awaited Veterans Memorial, will now begin following Missouri City City Council approval.

Council approved the projects at its May 20 meeting, including additional work on the Glenn Lakes Bridge and a new road connection between Cravens Road and Sam Houston Parkway.

The city began collecting funds for the memorial last year for the project, which will be located near City Hall. The design, based on a submitted design from Lloyd Lentz, principal of LMA Design, will include original schematics including a fountain, a flame, arched columns and a star.

City Manager Anthony Snipes estimates the project to cost $1.5 million, with $970,000 going toward construction. He said he hopes to reach the Phase 1 fundraising goal of $750,000 by July or August so a groundbreaking could take place near Veterans Day in November.

In addition, the city plans to create programming with Fort Bend ISD and Stafford MSD for students to take a field trip to the memorial and learn about branches of service.

“They will be able to hear veterans speak about their experiences and will be able to be a part of a video about the trip,” Snipes said.

The second phase of Glenn Lakes will replace the bridge over the Oyster Creek tributary. The project, estimated to cost $1.6 million, will be 50% funded by the Fort Bend County Mobility Bond Program, according to Shashi Kumar, the director of public works for Missouri City.

Missouri City Glenn Lakes Bridge Missouri City's Glenn Lakes Bridge project.[/caption]

In October 2017, the city started a $2.1 million reconstruction project on the bridge between West Creek Club Drive and East Creek Club Drive that was completed in August 2018.

District D Council Member Floyd Emery asked Kumar to provide additional construction and traffic considerations could be made to minimize detour confusion as well as noise.

The new project is expected to be completed in June 2020, Kumar said.

The go-ahead was also given for a connecting road between Cravens Road and Sam Houston Parkway near the new CityPark Logistics Center development. The city estimates road construction to cost about $3 million and will relieve some truck traffic that uses Gessner Road, Kumar said.

Missouri City Cravens Road Missouri City's Cravens Road connector project.[/caption]

In addition to Logistics Property funds, Fort Bend County committed $970,000 for its section of the road under its mobility bond package, according to city documents.

The city is also considering closing Cravens at Hwy. 90, which crosses Union Pacific Corp. rail lines, where train-vehicle collisions have occurred in recent years, according to the council and news reports.