FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 12, 2019

Contact: Jessica Beemer (832) 393-3008

Houston, TX – Houston City Council Member Dave Martin is pleased to announce Houston Public Works crews will begin a panel replacement in the Kingwood area. The project will begin along West Lake Houston Parkway, just south of its intersection with Oakwood Forest Drive, on Thursday, November 14, weather permitting. The scope of work includes replacing 66 feet of pavement, as well as replacing an additional 16 feet of pavement on the crossover street to connect to the existing joint. The cost of the project is $35,000.00 and is funded through Council Member Martin’s Council District Service Funds.

On Thursday, November 14, Houston Public Works crews will begin the preparation work at 7:00 p.m. One lane will be closed while crews saw cut the paving. The lane will re-open no later than 5:00 a.m. the next morning, Friday, November 15. At 9:00 a.m. on Friday, November 15, crews will re-close that same lane to remove and replace the concrete paving. This lane is scheduled to remain closed from 9:00 a.m. Friday, November 15, until 12:00 a.m. midnight, Sunday, November 17. During the design portion of this project, Houston Public Works completed a traffic count of the area to create this work schedule with the goal of minimally impacting commutes and traffic congestion. 

As a result of the construction activities, please be aware of flagmen and orange traffic cones that will be put in place on site to help with traffic flow through the construction zone as temporary lane closures are expected. One lane will remain open during the repairs process. Residents will have access to driveways and sidewalks at all times, and may experience an increase in noise levels due to trucks and equipment in the area.

For more information, please contact Council Member Dave Martin’s office at (832) 393-3008 or districte@houstontx.gov.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 4, 2019
Contact: Jessica Beemer (832) 393-3008 districte@houstontx.gov

Houston, TX – Council Member Dave Martin would like to make District E residents aware that he has achieved support for additional dredging on the Lake Houston mouth-bar in the form of a signed letter from Congressman Dan Crenshaw, Congressman Kevin Brady, Senator Ted Cruz, and Senator John Cornyn to the Acting Director of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA). This is a rare accomplishment for the City of Houston to have all interested parties of a project at the local and state level signed on in agreement working together to make sure those at the highest level know that this project is not just necessary but required for our community. 

Council Member Martin has worked hard over the last year and several months taking multiple trips to Austin and Washington, D.C. in order to solidify support at the state and federal level. Council Member Martin is happy to fight for the residents of District E and is glad to have this signed letter as proof of our hard work  supporting the additional dredging. Council Member Martin has worked tirelessly to gain the support for this project from Mayor Sylvester Turner, Governor Greg Abbott, Congressman Dan Crenshaw, Congressman Kevin Brady, Senator Ted Cruz, and Senator John Cornyn. 

As many in the Kingwood community are aware the first mission assignment modification to address partial removal of the mouth-bar concluded earlier this year. The mission assignment modification provided the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) authorization, acting at the direction of FEMA, to remove an additional 497,400 cubic yards of debris from the confluence of the San Jacinto River and Lake Houston, known locally as the “mouth-bar”. Council Member Martin has never accepted the amount of debris included in the mission modification and continues to fight that number today. Council Member Martin made the community aware of our plea to federal officials early September 2019.   Overall the dredging efforts in the San Jacinto River have removed roughly 2 million cubic yards of debris from the river alone, which has been tremendous to return the flow and depth in the river. The 500,000 cubic yards removed from the mouth-bar, while helpful, does not achieve the goal of Council Member Martin to further reduce the effects of potential future flooding while protecting lives and property of those living in Kingwood and the Lake Houston area. Council Member Martin wants to achieve complete removal of the mouth-bar and will not stop fighting until that is achieved.

An update was provided to the community by Chief Recover Officer Costello at the Kingwood Town Hall Meeting on October 17, in his presentation that covered Recovery and Flood Mitigation Strategies. Thanks to this congressional letter of support delivered to FEMA on October 24 the City of Houston is in the final steps for solidifying an additional mission modification, which we hope to hear about soon.   Please contact the District E Office with any questions by emailing districte@houstontx.gov.

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