So unless you've studiously avoided it, you've noticed that there are now only two lanes each direction on Eagle Drive SOUTH of the Canal. These two lanes are, of course, what will eventually be the east side, north bound lanes of traffic. You begin to get an idea of just what has been involved with all of this. It's at once fun to watch and a little frustrating as things progress. We're going to have to deal with delays as construction traffic moves in and out, and just regular folks trying to get to the post office or the school or their favorite shop. As we all move around on the roadway, it is good to remember to be patient. It's worth it.
The west side, south bound lanes are now under construction. The construction of these lanes should go quicker, as there will be less drainage work that needs to take place. Also, one of the things that kind of held up the construction of the north bound lanes was some sanitary sewer work that needed to take place before the road could be completed. Now that all that's done, the rest should be a breeze. The goal initially was to have all four lanes open before school starts. That is looking like it is going to be unfeasible at this point, but they are still working as quickly as they can to get these lanes open to traffic as soon as possible, so that the school traffic can be accommodated.
You will notice that the relative height of the road will be much lower, but that will be less noticeable once the entire roadway has been changed to the correct height. The roadway overall is much lower than the previous road. This is to facilitate drainage in the roadway in an extreme event (flooding will happen in the road, instead of in adjacent properties), as well as drainage channels out to nearby waterways (Cotton Bayou, mainly, but also some to Hackberry Gully). For those of us who have become accustomed to the relative flatness of our road interchanges, we may take some adjusting to get things so they seem OK. But in the mean time, it's interesting and fun, and certainly keeps you on your toes... :)
As always, if you have questions about what's going on, please feel free to stop by my office. I've had several people come in and talk about it, and it's always helpful for me and everyone to share information. Just remember - patience! We'll all get there.
5 comments :
Hate it. Those neighborhoods never flooded. Now Eagle Dr floods with a little rain. Very poor planning mr city planner.
I'm not sure how to respond to this comment. The design of the road is not my bailiwick. That is the realm of the engineers, who decided that water in the roadway is an acceptable thing, especially when the alternative is flooding a church, school, or business. There will be water in the roadway. That was not a planning decision. That's what happens when it rains.
We live in a flood prone area. The elevation change between us and sea level is only 35 feet. Cotton Bayou is even lower, at 19 feet. There is just not very much you can do with the runoff. Drainage and detention is a priority in the City, in all aspects of design and construction. Drainage takes place in channels and along roadways in roadside ditches. Expansion of Eagle Drive necessitated the closure of the roadside ditches. The flooding incident with the rains last week is not an indication of the final design, as it is still under construction. This would be like walking into a house that has just been sheet rocked and complaining about the paint color.
I would be happy to discuss the design in detail with you, or, if you'd prefer a technical explanation of the decisions made, please contact the city engineer.
Concerned citizen...
Well, I have lived in Mon Belvieu for just under 13 yrs. now. My neighborhood which is on Eagle Drive has neve flodded nor have the ditches ever overflowed their area into houses. So now, we have lowered the roads, draining all he rainwater from the school, churches, strip stores AND the neighborhoods into Eagle Drive...And God forbid we actually have a flood that causes people to evacuate...how are WE going to evacuated IF the only road is flooded and not passable for traffic????
The part of
Eagle Road already has gotten under water on that recent Saturday morning with minimal rainfall
Well, CC...
Thank you for your interest and concern. Eagle Drive was designed with a major event in mind. That is - that it will have two (of four) lanes passable in the event of a 100 year flood. For reference, the six or 8 inches of rain we had in hurricane Ike amounted to a 25 year storm. It's not a linear thing - you can't say that a 100 year storm is four times more rain than a 25... All that it means is that it is a major storm that in any given year has a 1% likelihood of occurring. In such an event, the inside lanes will be passable (with maybe a little water on them) while the outside lanes will have a few inches of water. Many big trucks and things will not have a problem even with that scenario.
All of that being the case, evacuation orders for major events - like hurricanes - come days before the event. The roads are still typically dry at that time, and the extra lanes should actually help people in their efforts to get out of town. My best advice for you is if/when the evacuation order comes down to heed it as quickly as possible. This will reduce the burden on the roadway - which could always be flooded in an extreme event beyond anyone's control, and on the first responders who have to stay behind to care for the community.
Just curious on the completion time of Eagle drive, what was the expected completion time and were are we know? It seems as if work has slowed down on Eagle drive (Seeing less construction workers etc…)
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