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Upper Kirby Construction Update
Area Flooding
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Upper Kirby Update

January 13, 2012  

Buffalo Speedway Construction  
Night Work This Week   
Crews Pour the New Roadway  
Buffalo Speedway Construction

Buffalo Speedway construction is moving forward and on schedule for substantial completion in March.

To date, contractors have completed overhead utility burial, new water line and storm sewer installation and have paved all main lanes on the eastern half of the street.

Bissonnet intersection work began on the east side of the street this week  and is expected to continue through next week. Work also began on the Purdue entrance.

Over the next week pavement crews will hope to complete water connections and paving at Purdue, frame and begin pouring the eastern half of the Bissonnet intersection and possibly begin sidewalk work. Concurrently, storm sewer crews will be working to make connections to both the existing and new storm sewer facilities. As many of these connections occur in an existing traffic lane, crews will complete this work overnight and utilize flagmen to safely detour traffic around the construction.

Several traffic shifts may occur in the next two weeks as intersection work progresses. Look for email updates as plans are finalized.

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.
District Flooding
Monday's Storm Proves Quite a Significant Event
Area flooding proved to be quite serious this Monday as a slow moving storm system hammered the region for several hours.

The Upper Kirby area saw over five-inches of rain in just two hours between nine and 11am with the majority of that volume falling between the hours of 9:30 and 10:30.

Two primary drainage systems carry water from Upper Kirby north to Buffalo Bayou and south to Braes Bayou; the Kirby drainage system and the Greenbriar/Shepherd drainage system. The high point for the area sits just north of Westheimer, so the majority of our storm water travels south along these systems to Braes Bayou.

Both the Kirby system and the Greenbriar/Shepherd system were  overwhelmed Monday as the storm moved in from the south flooding the outfall point early and leaving nowhere for  water falling upstream to go. At 11am, the water level at our outfall at Harris Gully at South McGregor Way measured 41 feet above sea level. Normal elevation at this channel is 21 feet. the 100 year storm level for this channel is 39.9 feet.

Storm sewer improvements will continue in Upper Kirby over the next several years to continue to improve the efficiency of both of these drainage systems, though no system is built to withstand 100-year events. Over the next several years, the Upper Kirby Redevelopment Authority will complete the final two large drainage projects still left to complete the Kirby system upgrades and will bring the Shepherd/Greenbriar system up to standards as well.

 The first remaining project in the Kirby system, Richmond Avenue between Kirby and Buffalo Speedway, will begin in the first quarter of this year and will add a new 72-inch storm drain under the north side of the roadway. Following shortly behind, the Westheimer drainage upgrades between Shepherd and Buffalo Speedway will finish out the major lines draining into the Kirby system. Shepherd and Greenbriar drainage projects are scheduled to follow behind Westheimer.

For more information on storm drainage projects in the Upper Kirby area, contact Travis Younkin at 713.524.8000 or email
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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.