Brays Bayou Master Plan

[j_cuevas713]

On 1/23/2021 at 2:43 PM, kennyc05 said:

This is gonna suck but it's for the best the sidewalks on that bridge are really narrow.

That presentation says they will be 10 feet wide

[kennyc05]

1 hour ago, j_cuevas713 said:

That presentation says they will be 10 feet wide

Ok not bad 🤔

[j_cuevas713]

5 hours ago, kennyc05 said:

Ok not bad 🤔

Yeah I've always felt that should be the minimum here

 

[Highrise Tower]

Brays Bayou work at Chimney Rock & Braeswood.  Glad to see this!

[hindesky]

They are finished on the bend of the Brays Bayou near UH.

[Highrise Tower]

[Highrise Tower]

Braeswood at Chimney Rock. They're creating one wide bridge to replace the two small bridges? Just like they did down the block on Hillcroft.

[Highrise Tower]

[Highrise Tower]

[rechlin]

They finally started demolishing the Buffalo Speedway bridge this past week:

[Highrise Tower]

[hindesky]

They have also torn down the Buffalo Speedway bridge over Brays. Actually was a good thing for me because I was chasing a Bike Tag somewhere on Brays and this forced me turn around and go eastbound where I ended up finding it.

The Bike Tag turned out to be at McGregor Park near UH.

[Triton]

1 hour ago, hindesky said:

They have also torn down the Buffalo Speedway bridge over Brays. Actually was a good thing for me because I was chasing a Bike Tag somewhere on Brays and this forced me turn around and go eastbound where I ended up finding it.

The Bike Tag turned out to be at McGregor Park near UH.

Bike Tag?

[JLWM8609]

On 3/13/2021 at 9:29 PM, Highrise Tower said:

Braeswood at Chimney Rock. They're creating one wide bridge to replace the two small bridges? Just like they did down the block on Hillcroft.

They didn't replace any bridges at Hillcroft. It's been one big bridge since the 60s. They raised the current Hillcroft bridge.

[JLWM8609]

The big construction sign on Almeda and MacGregor says the Almeda Rd. bridge is closing on April 16th.

[hindesky]

1 hour ago, Triton said:

Bike Tag?

It's a game on reddit/bikehouston. Someone finds a unique accessible spot in Houston(most of the players play it inside the loop, the few times someone ventured outside the loop the game almost died). They take a pic of their bike at the undisclosed site and it becomes the current Tag. Riders have to find it and then create a new Bike Tag. It has gotten very popular since the lockdown but I've been playing it since Bike Tag #38 and am one of the most frequent players. It is up to Bike Tag #334 with the Tag I created on today's ride. If you go to the website one of the players created a map of all the found Tags to try to keep repeat Tags out of the game. I love playing, it gives something to do on my on my ride and is challenging to figure out where the Tag is. I use Google & Maps, having previous knowledge of the Tag, and looking up clues in the pic. Plus when riding your'e always thinking about possible locations for a new future Tag.

https://www.reddit.com/r/bikehouston/

 

 

[samagon]

21 hours ago, hindesky said:

They have also torn down the Buffalo Speedway bridge over Brays. Actually was a good thing for me because I was chasing a Bike Tag somewhere on Brays and this forced me turn around and go eastbound where I ended up finding it.

 

The Bike Tag turned out to be at McGregor Park near UH.

such an under utilized park!

[Highrise Tower]

Taking out trees in the median on Chimney Rock.  Any idea on the scope of work here?

[hindesky]

The trails by Hermann Park have had these "Closed Trails" signs for years while heading eastbound towards 288 and beyond. Originally they were put there when 288 was doing HOV work and the signs actually meant the trail was closed but they never took them down. It's been well over a year since they finished. I've ridden past the signs for a long time and this time they were right. The trail is blocked off for replacement of the Almeda St bridges. I was able to maneuver around them very carefully but when the bridge actually comes down no one will be able to. I rode by here on Thursday and there was no problem.

[samagon]

and at the same time, the Lawndale bridge is open!

not sure if the bike trail is open to go with it though.

[X.R.]

Holy S...they are taking down Almeda St.'s bridges? What is the timeline on that?

Man, I can't remember the last time the city attacked infrastructure issues like this head on and so rapidly. I hope this does help with flooding. 

[jmitch94]

They seem to just be replacing the bridges, is this going to help with flooding or does is just replace worn out bridges and improve traffic flow? 

[Houston19514]

The current (Almeda) bridge will be demolished and replaced with a higher, longer and wider bridge. This will increase the capacity of the channel, allowing for more water to flow under the bridge. The new bridge will include five 11-foot wide lanes, a left turn lane and 10-foot sidewalks. Construction will begin in Winter 2020/2021 and is scheduled to last approximately one year, ending in Winter 2021/2022.

https://www.projectbrays.org/all-segments/segment-2/about-almeda-rd-bridge/

Edited April 26, 2021 by Houston19514

[samagon]

13 hours ago, jmitch94 said:

They seem to just be replacing the bridges, is this going to help with flooding or does is just replace worn out bridges and improve traffic flow? 

the bridges will be higher, and the pilings will be fewer. so there will be less impediment to the flow of water.

theoretically, this should allow more volume of water to move.

[bobruss]

The Brays  Project is a great example of recognizing a problem and implementing a studied approach to flood management. The addition of  many new retention ponds, the construction of new bridges, and the re-shaping of the contours and widths of the bayou hopefully will allow for more capacity, and will mitigate most of the flooding issues. The bonus to everyone is the  creation of new and improved  hike and bike paths which have become  some of the most important connectors in our alternative transportation system. It has also brought about the creation of many new parks and recreational areas. I think this is a win win win. Especially for the home owners along Brays bayou who have suffered through so many devastating floods. Kudos to everyone involved in this massive undertaking and hopefully it truly makes a difference.

I just wish they could do something about the bottleneck at 288 where the bridges, concrete supports, and earthworks still create a serious threat to the med center.

[Houston19514]

1 hour ago, bobruss said:

I just wish they could do something about the bottleneck at 288 where the bridges, concrete supports, and earthworks still create a serious threat to the med center.

That area has already been addressed.  The original plan called for raising those bridges, but from a 2010 article on the Project Brays website:

"Furthermore, rather than replacing the S.H. 288 Bridge to accommodate a wider channel, engineers were able to design a wider bayou under the bridge using 67,000 square feet of retaining walls – a more practical and less expensive alternative to reconstructing the bridge, Farid [Project Brays Program Manager] said. “We’re still able to achieve the same hydraulic requirements in the bayou but at a lower cost and with far less disruptions to drivers,” he added."

https://www.projectbrays.org/press-releases/the-harris-county-flood-control-district-begins-one-of-the-largest-phases-of-project-brays/

[rechlin]

On 4/24/2021 at 7:27 PM, Highrise Tower said:

Taking out trees in the median on Chimney Rock.  Any idea on the scope of work here?

This bridge is also being replaced.  They are doing a single bridge, not a double bridge, and I believe they are taking out the trees because the new bridge will go down the middle. The same is being done at South Rice.

New Chimney Rock bridge:

New South Rice bridge:

[Highrise Tower]

On 4/27/2021 at 2:59 PM, rechlin said:

This bridge is also being replaced.  They are doing a single bridge, not a double bridge, and I believe they are taking out the trees because the new bridge will go down the middle. The same is being done at South Rice.

Large tree before it was taken out.

Median being worked on.

[hindesky]

Almeda St bridge is gone, traffic must be hell around this, there is no easy detour. In the second pic it shows a water pipe bridge and a walkway.

[jmitch94]

I live in the apartments just south down Almeda and surprising traffic hasn't been that terrible.