Upper Kirby Construction Update

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Upper Kirby

Construction Update

Kirby Drive - Richmond to 59
Northbound Under 59 Closed This Weekend

The coming week is shaping up to be a productive period on Kirby and a welcomed return to activity on Buffalo Speedway.

Kirby Drive Construction Crews continue to push south from Richmond along the center of the roadway and are nearing completion of this section of paving. At this point, it is anticipated that the center pavement will be complete and traffic barriers will shift to the east side of Kirby mid-week next week. All traffic will be pushed to the west side of Kirby and two lanes in either direction and a center turn lane will be maintained throughout this final paving phase. As was the case on the west side of the street, access to intersecting streets (Algerian, Norfolk and Portsmouth) will be limited as construction passes through the intersections. Stay tuned for updates as work impacts these intersections.

Norfolk storm sewer work east of Kirby has been completed as has the repaving of the impacted section of the roadway. The street is now open for two-way traffic again and repaving of this lateral sewer line has moved to Revere between Norfolk and Richmond. As Revere is completed, two-way traffic will be maintained, however, may be choked down at Portsmouth as crews complete that intersection.

The portion of this new line on Richmond has been under construction for the past few weeks. While there is evident disruption of the pavement itself, traffic movements have remained unchanged during the day as crews have been working nights to lessen the impact on Richmond traffic. Richmond lateral work is complete, however, paving restoration is ongoing.

Crews also plan on beginning work next week on the Richmond/Kirby intersection. Initial improvements to the intersection will be storm inlet lead construction and new water line installation. This work will be completed overnight so as to reduce the traffic impact during peak hours. Late night motorists should anticipate this work and be aware that Richmond traffic may be reduced to one lane moving through the intersection at times.

Kirby paving activity under US 59 on the southbound lanes is now complete and the U-turn has been reopened. Reconstruction of northbound lanes under 59 will continue this weekend. Due to the traffic volumes at this interchange, work will occur between Friday evening and Sunday afternoon as was the case for the southbound lanes under the freeway. During this period northbound traffic will be prohibited under the freeway. Northbound motorists will be detoured east along the feeder to Greenbriar or Shepherd where they can u-turn and come back to continue northbound on Kirby.

Look for weekly construction updates to advise of any changes in the projected schedule.

Buffalo Speedway Construction Motorists who frequent Buffalo Speedway between 59 and Bissonnet will be glad to hear that the utility phase of work that has been ongoing since late April is nearing completion. Many area residents and commuters have voiced their frustration at the appearance of inactivity as the many utility providers shifted service from overhead to underground. As this process requires no significant heavy equipment or manpower, it appears as though no work is taking place, when in fact, a lot of technical work and coordination is ongoing. We are happy to report, however, that the utility companies are complete to a degree that will allow roadway crews to remobilize next week.

CenterPoint anticipated that this phase would take between 45 and 90 days to complete but have experienced several delays causing this phase to be longer than anticipated. Duct bank construction crews were delayed several weeks waiting on terminal poles to be set and final completion of transfers have been slow for several telecommunications providers. It appears that substantial completion, originally slated for November, will be several months behind.
Look for weekly updates as this project progresses.

For more information on Upper Kirby construction projects and for issues and concerns as construction progresses, contact Travis Younkin at 713-524-8000 or email travis@upperkirby.org.

If you have a new business, development or community event that you would like included in the monthly Upper Kirby news, please contact us at 713.524.8000 or submit to streettalk@upperkirby.org

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Upper Kirby is a constantly evolving urban area marked by an outstanding location, great shopping, unique residential neighborhoods, smart development and a small town feel. It is an area of successful businesses, involved communities and a synergy between the public and private sectors. It is the heartbeat of Houston and everywhere you want to be.