Baytown Sun Article

Made it to the paper again! Thanks to Mark Fleming for the great article.

Link: http://baytownsun.com/communities/mont_belvieu/article_a94708d4-4978-11e2-a684-001a4bcf887a.html

City planner: road project on track

Posted: Wednesday, December 19, 2012 12:00 am

By Mark Fleming mark.fleming@baytownsun.com

With parts of Eagle Drive in Mont Belvieu starting to look more like the boulevard it will become, residents are continuing to ask how soon it will be finished.

Mont Belvieu City Planner Bill Cobabe said the project is on track for the road to be completed before school begins in the fall for the 2013-2014 school year, and possibly earlier in the summer.

Cobabe said the reason the earlier part of the construction seems to have moved slowly is that much of the project involved putting in underground drainage – work that is not as visible as new traffic lanes. In fact, he said, the drainage work represents two-thirds of the cost of the project.

Once Eagle Drive is completed, it will no longer be a narrow highway with ditches, but will be a wide boulevard with curbs, gutters and a grassy median.

The median, in fact, will be wide enough to add an additional lane in each direction if that is needed in decades to come.

The design of the new road is intended to help promote smooth flow of traffic, he said.

For one thing, he said, using a median rather than a continuous turn lane reduces the number of traffic conflict points, smoothing traffic flow.

Also, he said, the city has tried to encourage businesses to voluntarily close some of the driveways connecting to the road to further reduce conflict points and improve both safety and traffic flow. While only a few agreed, he said code changes will limit the number of new driveways intersecting Eagle Drive.

Also, he said, the planned extension of FM 1409, roughly parallel to Eagle Drive, will take some of the potential traffic off the road.

Another question Cobabe has been hearing a lot lately concerns the land being cleared at the intersection of Eagle Drive north of Interstate 10.

He said the owner of the property is clearing it and intends to sell it for development, but there are no plans – even tentative ones – at this time. Rumors have named a number of possible businesses that could locate there, but they are just rumors.

With the coming construction of a Walmart on the south side of the interstate at Highway 146, Cobabe said commercial development is clearly moving toward Mont Belvieu, but most developers are waiting for more home construction before committing to build.

Projects like the rebuilding of Eagle Drive, though, mean that the infrastructure will be able to accommodate development when it comes.

The rain came down and the floods came up...

When I was a child, I learned the song about the foolish man and the wise man. The foolish man built his house on sand, while the wise man built his house on a rock. In due course, the rains came, and the flood waters rose, and the house on the sandy foundation washed away, while the house on the rock stood strong.

This, of course, is a metaphor for being strong in the face of adversity. But there are also some interesting implications for our world.

I recently attended a conference at Texas A&M University at Galveston. There, people from various disciplines discussed how global climate change will affect natural disasters, including excessive rainfalls, drought, and rising sea levels. Whether or not you agree that the impacts of the industrial revolution are contributing to the cycles of warmer temperatures, the effect of this global climate change are real and have significant impact on those of us who live close to water and the attendant climate conditions.

Hurricane Sandy (or Super Storm Sandy, if you prefer) had a significant impact on the way people think about disaster mitigation. This is in part due to the sheer numbers of people affected by the storm. But it also sheds light on what planners can do to help their communities remain robust and resilient in the face of the unknown and unpredictable.

This morning, I heard this story:

http://www.npr.org/2012/12/10/166858481/sandy-forces-questions-about-waterfront-rebuilding

This fitted very well with things I'd heard on Thursday regarding the way we look at building in and around the flood plain. The flood plain is designated by the federal government at a "base flood elevation (BFE)" that shows where in an extreme event - such as a 100 year flood, or, better said, a storm which in any given year has a 1% chance of happening - will impact the ground. Property and houses built in this area will have 1 foot of coverage. It is thus a good idea to either not build in the 100 year flood plain, or to build in such a way that the impact of the water is mitigated. Since it's not really practical in our area to force people not to build in a flood plain, there are things we can do to make sure that the flood waters do not impact property/structures.

Among the things we discussed at the conference was the need to elevate structures out of the flood plain. There are two ways to do that - either build a small, elevated mound on which to construct, or to build one's house on piers above the ground. The first method seems to be more popular of late, because it is what the market seems to want. We build structures high enough that the water gets pushed off to either side and out to an extensive system of drainage channels which take the water to the natural drainage ways. This has a big impact on the natural systems, and although engineers try to mitigate the impact, it is unclear how that impact affects the overall ecosystem. The second method, of course, has a lesser impact on the natural drainage system, but for whatever reason it's less desirable. Interestingly, building on piers was the traditional mode of construction in the south for a long time. Building above grade helps with circulation, and using piers that are treated or made of concrete/steel reduces the potential for termites/mold/rot associated with being at ground level. This is the only acceptable mode of construction in many coastal areas, and could have a resurgence in more inland areas as well. Regardless of method, though, it was generally agreed that it is important to require that structures be built out of the flood plain - 18" to 24" higher than BFE.

It was also highlighted how important it is to build structures to be resilient to structural damage in high winds or flood waters. While we don't build on stone/bedrock like they did in the song I noted above, we pour strong foundations and/or use strong piers to make our structures sound and strong. They are built according to industry standards and are inspected for integrity and strength. We are in a hurricane prone area, and we should be assured that our homes and businesses are able to withstand the storms that come.

The effects of global climate change are yet to be fully realized. There will be impacts on all of us, and we should plan our communities now with both active and passive steps taken to provide resilience. This should come in social, environmental, and economic ways. These three legs of sustainability are not only good for our community in the short term, but provide a foundation for strength in perpetuity.

Eagle Drive (Update 5)

I've heard from several people that they're getting SICK AND TIRED of Eagle Drive.

I believe it. And I agree. It's been a long haul.

Just to give you a brief update on what's happened so far:

The aspect of the project that was the most expensive was the drainage work. Perhaps you've seen from time to time large concrete boxes in various stages of delivery/installation. That's just the part of the drainage that is right along the road. There has also been a lot of work done that you wouldn't necessarily notice unless you specifically went to look for it. This drainage had to be done first so that when the road work began the jobsite wouldn't be flooded out.

The road is 2 1/2 miles long. We are putting in four lanes of roadway along that entire length. Part of what makes it a little bit sticky is the number of driveways/intersections along the road that have to remain open for businesses/neighborhoods to gain access to their places. It's a scheduling thing, mostly, and as we get into the work on the north side of the CWA canal/City Park, it's only going to be more difficult. Please remember that these businesses are open and welcoming your business. It may be difficult to get in to them, but please do! They still need your business.

The phases along the north portion of the roadway will follow the same pattern as the southern portion. The roadway has been pushed to the west side of the road while construction takes place on the east side of the road. Once those lanes are all in and complete, the traffic will be shifted to the east lanes and then work will begin on the west side of the road.

Currently, most of the work is centered around the intersection of Eagle Drive and FM 565. There was some water and drainage work that was going on in the area, and as that winds up the actual road construction will begin.

There was a question regarding the number of crews out there on the construction sites. It may appear that there are fewer people out working now than there were before. In reality, there were several projects that were being completed simultaneously, including sewer installation, utility work, etc. The number of people working on the actual road project has remained and will continue to remain about the same.

There was also a question - and continues to be many questions - regarding what is going in on Eagle Drive near I-10. There is nothing currently in the works for this site. There is a driveway that leads to the west into the vacant parcel, but that's really just a place holder so we could indicate where the actual intersection would be. There is a traffic signal light there, and eventually the roadway will continue to the west. But for now, there is nothing specific planned for that site.

As always, I'm available to answer questions regarding the road, development in the City, or anything else you may be interested in. Please stop by City Hall, shoot me an email (bcobabe@montbelvieu.net), or give me a call at 281-576-2213 x 233 or my cell at 281-838-5799. I look forward to hearing from you.