Bohac and Lawrence Give Update on Long Point Reconstruction

HOUSTON - State Representative Dwayne Bohac (District 138) and Houston City Council Member Toni Lawrence (District A) are pleased to announce that the City of Houston is moving forward with plans to redevelop Long Point Road. Reconstruction could begin as early as next year on the vital thoroughfare of Spring Branch.

The city has adopted a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) which includes $12 million for Long Point over the next five years. The entire cost of the redevelopment effort is expected to cost $25 million. Wirt and Blalock will be reconstructed first, as most of the right-of-way is available at this time. The cost is about $900,000 to reconstruct the Blalock intersection and $1.7 million for the Wirt intersection. If all goes as planned, construction will begin in 2005.

”I am excited about the Long Point revitalization and the benefits that it will bring to Spring Branch,” Lawrence said. “We are working very hard to bring additional funding to this project from the city, county and federal levels. The constituents of Spring Branch have waited long enough!”

Council Member Lawrence also went to Washington last fall to meet with Congressman John Culberson to get federal money added to this project.

The Long Point Feasibility Study was recently completed after the City of Houston allocated additional funds last year to complete the project. The engineering study proposes a long-term plan to upgrade major intersections and create four 12-foot lanes divided by a 12-foot raised median in certain sections within an 80-foot right-of-way were ever possible. It also calls for improved sidewalks, wheelchair ramps, landscaping, turning lanes, pavement repair, signal improvements and synchronized timing to increase traffic flow.

With the completion of the feasibility study, the focus will be on acquiring the needed right-of-way property to proceed. Once this is done, the project will be advertised for a construction bid. After the final bid is determined, it will be sent to City Council for approval.

”I am excited to see the city responding to the needs of Spring Branch,” said Bohac. “This has been a collaborative effort between the Spring Branch Super Neighborhoods, civic leaders and elected officials. I am especially thankful for Councilmember Lawrence making Long Point a top priority.”

Last year, Rep. Bohac passed a resolution in the Texas House of Representatives calling on the City of Houston to move forward with the redevelopment effort. With the support of fellow Houston lawmakers Beverly Woolley, Jessica Farrar, Jon Lindsay, and John Whitmire, HR 1295 was sent to City Hall after being passed unanimously by the House as part of an effort to focus the city’s attention on this project.

“Civic leaders and local elected officials have devoted a great deal of time and effort to get Long Point redeveloped,” concluded Bohac. “It’s amazing what can happen when people work together. The time is now for Long Point construction to begin because this project was neglected far too long by the former mayor.”

Long Point Road will play an increasingly vital role to the area as construction on the Katy Freeway continues. It runs from Conrad Sauer just west of Gessner all the way east to Hempstead Highway.