Project Brays
Bertner to Timberside/Bevlyn
The current segment of Project Brays from Bertner Street in the TMC to the Timberside/Bevlyn outfall 2,200 feet west of Buffalo Speedway began on June 27. It is being done in six phases as follows:
Phase 1: South bank upstream of Greenbriar to Buffalo Speedway. No impacts to Brays Bayou Hike & Bike Trail (may have some lane closures due to excavation, utility relocations).
Phase 2: South bank from Bertner to Greenbriar. No impact to Brays Bayou Hike & Bike Trail.
Phase 3: North bank from Bertner to Greenbriar. Trail along top of bank to be closed and detoured.
Phase 4: North bank from Greenbriar to Brompton. Trail along top of bank to be closed and detoured (may have some lane closures due to excavation, utility relocations).
Phase 5: North bank from Brompton to Buffalo Speedway (may have some lane closures due to excavation, utility relocations).
Phase 6: South bank from Buffalo Speedway to Timberside/Bevlyn outfall. Trail along top of bank to be closed and detoured).
The contractor has the option of working more than one phase at a time if he so chooses. Completion of the six phases is scheduled for August, 2017. Phase 1 will take the longest to complete.
During construction, the contractor will have flagmen stationed along the streets to direct traffic as needed.
When construction of the retaining wall on the south bank west of Kirby (along the area of Braesmain) begins, west bound traffic on South Braeswood will be limited to one lane (inside) only.
The Buffalo Speedway bridge is to be replaced in 2019 (depending on funding). Both north and south banks immediately upstream and downstream of the bridge will not be excavated during this segment of the project. That stretch will become a choke point until the bridge is replaced at which time the banks will be excavated to match the completed section. Both the Buffalo Speedway and Greenbriar bridges will look like the Lidstonebridge which was installed on a previous downstream segment. The bridges will be standard TXDot box beam design with special Project Brays architecture features. They will be three-span type with piers located near the top of the existing concrete lining. The abutments will look very much like those under the 288 bridge. Also the existing concrete liner will have to be modified under the Kirby bridge like what was done under the 288 bridge. HCFCD actually installed two retaining walls under the 288 bridge where the liner was modified.
Some sections of the channel will have retaining walls where there is insufficient real estate to achieve the necessary slope excavation to achieve the 30% increase in flow capacity that the project is designed for or where the COH right-of-way prohibits bank excavation. In particular, the south bank from about midway between Buffalo Speedway to Kirby will have a retaining wall. The City of Houston will not allow encroachment of its right-of-way which is 15 feet from back of curb. So in order to meet the design criteria, retaining walls are required. Much of the south bank east of Kirby will also have a retaining wall. A retaining wall will be installed on the north bank from Kirby to west of the West University waste disposal plant and also downstream of Kirby. The two legacy trees that are located just to the west of the disposal plant will be protected at all times during excavation. The retaining walls are the reason why the trees have been removed. The retaining walls are the controlling factor of each phase. The retaining walls extend above grade and will have handrails on them for safety. They will also have “cut-outs” to allow storm water to pass through to the channel. Ideally, excavation will be symmetrical about the centerline of the channel. However, where limited by real estate availability on one side of the channel, and there being enough room on the opposite bank, some of the excavation required to meet the design criteria will be done on the opposite bank.
As each phase is completed, the trails will be replaced by HCFCD as a part of the project. Following that, the trails responsibility reverts to the County Commissioner whose precinct they pass through. The contractor will provide signage when the trails are closed. Tree planting will be completed at the next planting season following construction, e.t., Nov., Dec., & January.
HCFCD will hire a contractor to apply a seed/fertilizer/tackifier mixture to the excavated areas.
COH has stated that it will not allow lane closures the week prior to, and the week following, the 2017 NFL Super Bowl. As I understand it, COH will rescind all permits beginning one week before the event and reissue them one week following the event.
HCFCD has already begun the preliminary engineering phase of the last two segments of channel widening. The next segment following the current one is from the Timberside/Bevlyn outfall to South Rice. The last segment is from South Rice to Fondren. Completion of those two segments will complete the widening of 21 miles of the Brays channel. There is only one contract left at Willow Waterhole which is underway. Still to be completed are the control structures for the four major detention basins already constructed. These last two segments probably won’t get underway until sometime in 2018/19. Completion of Project Brays is estimated to be 2021/22. Following that, HCFCD will prepare “Letters of Map Revision”. Those are requests to FEMA that define the Project and for FEMA to resurvey the Brays floodplain. They are quite laborious to prepare due to a change in FEMA’s regulations. Personally I don’t foresee HCFCD doing this until the mid-2020’s. If a resurvey is done, some 30,000 structures will be removed from the 100-year Special Flood Hazard Area (flood plain) and flood insurance rates will be reduced.