The Lake Houston Dam Spillway Improvement Project will add 11 gates to the existing four-gate dam structure. (Courtesy Coastal Water Authority)
Kingwood officials provided updates on a variety of projects, including the Lake Houston Dam Spillway Improvement Project and the Northpark Drive Overpass project, during a Sept. 22 town hall held by Houston City Council member Fred Flickinger, who represents District E.
In case you missed it
During the town hall, officials presented updates to residents on a slate of Kingwood-specific projects, including the following. This list is not comprehensive.
Lake Houston Dam Spillway Improvement Project
The Lake Houston Dam Spillway Improvement Project is about 90% through the design process, said Greg Olinger, executive director of the Coastal Water Authority. The permitting process is expected to begin in December with construction starting in the second quarter of 2028 and wrapping up by the end of 2030.
As previously reported, the project will add 11 gates to the existing four-gate dam structure, which is expected to remove about 20% of structures from the flood impact area, said Chris Mueller, vice president of engineering firm Black & Veatch.
Olinger noted about $120 million in construction funds have been identified for the estimated $315 million project, leaving a roughly $195 million funding gap. Officials said they are hoping to receive additional funding for the project during the upcoming state legislative session, which begins in January. In August, the CWA hired its first government relations manager, Jonathan Mathers, to help with the process.
"Lake Houston provides water for roughly 7.5 million people—almost 3% of the population of the United States. I cannot think of a more important project in our country today [if] you think about the devastating impact of a failure of our system," said Dan Huberty, a former Texas legislator who serves on the CWA board of directors.
Northpark Drive Overpass
Construction on the Northpark Drive Overpass project is about 75% complete and expected to be substantially finished by April, said Tom Broad, chair of the board of the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority/Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone 10.
The $76.8 million project will widen the corridor to a six-lane divided roadway between Hwy. 59 and Russell Palmer Road with an overpass across the Union Pacific railroad tracks and Loop 494, serving as an evacuation route for Kingwood residents.
"This is something that Kingwood residents have requested for years: an evacuation route out of Kingwood," Broad said.
Phase 2 of the project—the $72.7 million Northpark Drive reconstruction project—will widen the corridor to a six-lane divided roadway between Russell Palmer Road and Woodland Hills Drive. Phase 2 is about 30% through the design phase and right-of-way acquisitions will begin this fall, Broad said.
Additionally, Broad said the LHRA/TIRZ 10 included a new project in this year's budget: a regional detention basin located where Bens Branch and the Kingwood Diversion Ditch meet. Upon completion, the project will be able to hold 90 acre-feet of water, helping to reduce downstream flooding.
Houston Fire Department Station 101
The Houston Fire Department's Station 101 is expected to reopen in Kingwood at the end of September, Flickinger said. Originally closed for mold abatement, the station had its reopening delayed due to the discovery of asbestos. In the meantime, Station 101's apparatus has been housed at stations 104 and 65, which are located in Kingwood and Huffman, respectively.
In the future, Flickinger said stations 101 and 104 will be combined at a new facility along Kingwood Drive. Work on the project is expected to be complete within the next two to three years.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport Terminal B
Through a $2.55 billion partnership with United Airlines, IAH's newly expanded Terminal B will welcome its first flights on Oct. 22, said Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for the Houston Airport System.
As previously reported by Community Impact, crews broke ground on the project in November 2023. Terminal B North will open this fall, while Terminal B South is expected to wrap up in early 2028.
IAH's newly expanded Terminal B will welcome its first flights Oct. 22. (Rendering courtesy Houston Airport System)
Szczesniak added airport-adjacent roadwork on Will Clayton Parkway has been completed, and the Kenswick Drive intersection is expected to open Sept. 30.
Stay tuned
The Kingwood town hall was just the first of three meetings Flickinger plans to host at locations throughout District E, which includes the communities of Clear Lake, Huffman, Crosby, Kingwood, Northshore and Summerwood.
The town hall meetings will be held from 5-8 p.m. on the following schedule:
