As was the case last week, crews on Westheimer will continue to focus on pedestrian amenities, landscaping and irrigation improvements as well as some traffic signal improvements at the Shepherd/Westheimer intersection over the next week. 

Installation of street trees and tree grate pavers did begin this week and will continue next week. In addition to the landscaping and irrigation improvements, historical blue tile curb street signs are being installed to provide a nod to the past while adding pedestrian scale street markers to the newly pedestrian oriented Westheimer. 

Final private utility connections are also being undertaken over the next few weeks that will allow the overhead poles to be removed. It will be an exciting few weeks as the new Westheimer begins to truly take shape. 

Utility duct banks have been constructed on Bissonnet between Kirby and Buffalo Speedway and are awaiting utility transfers. Roadwork is anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2016.

Look for further updates as this project is finalized. 

The Upper Kirby District is preparing to begin design on the drainage and pavement improvements project on Shepherd between Westheimer and US 59 over the next several months. This construction will provide storm drainage improvement, new pavement, utility relocation and complete streetscape and pedestrian improvements. 

Construction will likely follow Westheimer work in the 2017/2018 time frame. 

For more information on Upper Kirby construction and related activities or for construction related issues or concerns, please contact Travis Younkin at 713.524.8000 or travis@upperkirby.org.  

Workers this week continued the construction of the new performance pavilion and restroom structure and began sidewalk and hardscape work at the new dog park site adjacent to Eastside Street.

A serious delay in the removal of temporary power poles along the north side of the park serving the Kirby Grove office building site, however, has had a significant impact on the park construction schedule.   

The Midway Companies, developers of Kirby Grove, have encountered delays in securing required easements at the City of Houston preventing Center Point Energy from removing the temporary poles. The park currently has two large live oak trees relocated from the Midway apartment development site on the south side of the park awaiting final placement where these temporary poles are currently still placed. The trees in their current location are in conflict with the pavilion construction activity east of the restroom portion of the structure. As the trees are currently in areas planned for staging and construction activity, the some six month delay in removal of the temporary poles has already delayed the park progress, though the full time and cost impact of this conflict has not yet been identified.

While workers are keeping busy this week and next with restroom construction west of the performance area of the pavilion, they will hit a point in a week or so where they can no longer continue with the pavilion structure until the poles are removed.  

Work will continue next week on sub-grade improvements and pavilion construction west of the conflict. Park construction is currently estimated to be complete sometime this fall.

For more information on the park plan, visit levyparkhouston.org.

Look for further updates as the project progresses.