Houston's Shepherd-Durham project gets green light from city council
After weeks of construction delays, the second part of the much-awaited Shepard-Durham redesign can finally start construction. Houston City Council has approved an ordinance allowing for the reconstruction of Shepherd Drive and Durham Drive from West 15th Street to I-10 Frontage Road. The project will include the addition of bike lanes and pedestrian improvements, including essential public utility and drainage improvements to modernize the area's aging infrastructure. The approval protects approximately $40-50 million in federal funding the Memorial Heights Redevelopment Authority had secured for the project. This approval comes after the mayor announced a compromise on the project, which had been left unfinished due to his desire to maintain road widths and the number of lanes. The $100 million street reconstruction will include 19,000 feet of storm sewer lines, miles of new sanitary sewer lines and over 600 new trees.
Publicado : Hace 10 meses por Janet Miranda en Politics
Houston City Council approved an ordinance on Wednesday allowing for the reconstruction of Shepherd Drive and Durham Drive from West 15th Street to I-10 Frontage Road. The project will include the addition of bike lanes and pedestrian improvements. The design also includes essential public utility and drainage improvements that would modernize the area's aging infrastructure.
"It was the first of its kind for our region," said city council member Abbie Kamin, who represents the district where the project is located. "It was instrumental for improvement of the entire corridor…I could not be more grateful that this is moving forward...I look forward to the fact that we can now move swiftly into phase 2."
The improvements would bring 19,000 feet of storm sewer lines, miles of new sanitary sewer lines, and over 600 new trees into the area in a much-needed thoroughfare. The approval of construction by Houston officials protects approximately $40-50 million in federal funding the Memorial Heights Redevelopment Authority had secured to spend on this project. The funds were in danger of being canceled or reallocated if the project didn't move forward.
The news of the approval comes a week after the mayor announced a compromise on the project. In March, he placed a freeze on all projects involving narrowing traffic lanes or adding new bike lanes. After completing the first phase of the 11th Street redesign in 2023, the project was left unfinished due to the mayor's desire to maintain road widths and the number of lanes.
The revised Mayor-approved Shepherd-Durham project makes some tweaks to the original design, keeping all general purpose lanes at 11 feet, trimming the number of lanes of Shepherd and Durham from four to three, but preserving some "strategically included" left turn lanes. Bike lanes will be retained, but the sidewalk will be reduced to 6 feet from the originally planned 10-foot sidewalk.
The Memorial Heights TIRZ will contribute to covering construction costs not funded by federal grants. The city of Houston will also allocate funds for water and wastewater improvements. The $100 million street reconstruction, which includes the cost of both phases," promises significant benefits" for a transportation corridor that has not seen updates in decades, the Memorial Heights TIRZ previously told Chron.