Upper Kirby Streetscape Initiatives

Before

  November 21, 2014  

TxDOT work on the US 59 frontage road between Shepherd and 610 is now substantially complete. The project will shut down between tomorrow and January 3rd, at which point, there will be single lane closures at various locations to finish small, unresolved items. Permanent striping activity and restoration will be going on as well after January 3.

Look for weekly updates as this project progresses.   

Bissonnet Utility Relocation

Existing Pedestrian Realm on Bissonnet

Bissonnet Utility Relocation from Kirby to Buffalo continued this week with through the Wakeforest and Kirby intersections and asphalt paving between those intersections.

Crews made significant progress with laying the temporary pavement this week. There will be some asphalt activity, but the majority of remaining work within the existing work area involves laying conduit around and under the Kirby/Bissonnet intersection.

Early this week, workers encountered problems hand tunneling across Bissonnet at Kirby and were forced to open cut approximately 50-feet of roadway running at a north/south diagonal just west of the intersection. This caused only one lane to be available overnight Monday with police alternating east and westbound traffic through the pinch point. While this work was completed, the conduit has since been damaged by traffic plating covering the excavated area. Crews will again have to restrict traffic to one lane this coming Monday night between 7 pm and 5 am to make the needed repairs to the conduit. Two lanes will be available after 5 am. 

During exploratory work required in preparation for the trench work along the curbside lane of Kirby Drive southbound, crews discovered an unmarked waterline. This line The waterline was successfully capped allowing the contractor to begin boring and tunneling activities across Bissonnet from the northwest corner to the southwest corner, however, the replacement line will need to be installed before work at Kirby can be closed out and restored. This will involve a temporary water outage for some businesses along the south side of Bissonnet around Kirby. Look for updates as this schedule is finalized.

The ducts installed during this phase of work will eventually house the overhead

Utility Work - Bissonnet at Kirby

lines currently running down Bissonnet. Once Center Point Energy and the telecommunications providers have switched service from overhead to underground and removed the wires and wooden poles, Upper Kirby will begin water, sanitary and storm improvements and roadway reconstruction.

Like Kirby, Buffalo Speedway and Westheimer, this project will include a complete pedestrian-oriented streetscape and landscaping plan implemented and maintained in perpetuity by the Upper Kirby Management District. The roadway is not being widened and the existing esplanade is being maintained.

Like was the case on Westheimer, once underground facilities are in place they will be turned over to the utility companies to transfer overhead service to underground. The roadway reconstruction can begin once the utility companies have completed their work (typically around three months from completion of the duct installation). Once roadway work has begun, it will take 10 to 12 months to complete the project.

Look for further updates as the schedule progresses.

Concrete Framing at Dickey Place