County infrastructure starts with $7 M. in Barrett

Engineers survey Barrett ditches for proposed roadway construction at markings.

The Crosby-Huffman Chamber of Commerce met at the Crawfish Kings on FM 2100 on April 17 and heard from Commissioner Jack Morman’s Precinct 2 Senior Director of Infrastructure, Jeremy Phillips, concerning the status of FM 2100 being widened to accommodate increasing traffic in the area.

The Crosby-Huffman Chamber of Commerce is proactive in facilitating dialogue and understanding of community development.

As usual on the morning of the meeting at near 6:00 a.m. near Foley Road traffic snarled on FM 2100 at red lights.

Morman’s Precinct 2 crews are now beginning to give more time for drivers bound north and south to ease the tie up. Still there is no as yet plan to begin widening between Crosby and Huffman and from Barrett Station to Highlands.

State Representative Wayne Smith (R-128) is actively looking into state funding for the widening and frankly told this reporter with a wry smile, “It’s pretty complicated.”

In a substantial list of efforts applied by the east side of Harris County Precinct the first shovel will fall from the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDoT) to widen FM 2100 from the U.S. 90 overpass to FM 1942. From that point Morman’s Precinct Engineers are planning on widening the roadway all the way through Barrett Station. The plan is to put culverts down and roadway over those culverts to get more lanes. The Precinct 2 portion of that project is $7 million. Daily, the drive through Barrett Station is a slow pace from about 4:00 p.m. until about 7:00 p.m. and that compounds once one reaches Crosby. Precinct 2 expects bidding to begin “the first of next year” for the TXDoT portion of the roadway.

“If they can do that, then we’re going to be right on course with them to try to get our portion done as well.” said Phillips of when the County portion might begin.

“The design portion from FM 1942 to Arcadia is about 90% complete and we will be ready to go to construction as soon as that is complete. The other section is about 40% complete. We are trying to push that as fast as possible. We are looking to fund that in the next fiscal year from now until February. We are working with TXDoT so when they have their stuff out we can have our stuff out because I don’t want to tie up the road out of sequence.”

Morman’s Precinct 2 crews lack about one quarter of the project being finished in front of Newport’s bridgeway entrance including new lighting.

Precinct 2 completed a drainage study and is designing new relief for flooding.

Precinct 2 has worked with Crosby ISD to facilitate mobility for buses throughout the district. Dr. Keith Moore, Superintendent complemented the Precinct on their responsiveness to issues addressed by the school during the Luncheon.

I.T. May Park and Riley Chambers Park in Barrett Station are to be getting some county funds for varied projects. Riley is to get a new press box.

The I.T. May will get about a million in improvements.

“Some of the things that we’ve done are bringing in new power service and upgrade the sewer capacity so as that park grows that we can take on the infrastructure,” Phillips said. “We just replaced all the fencing around all the ball fields. We did a whole bunch of repainting, worked on roof structures and we’re going to put in a new concession stand and restroom in there to take on the added capacity.”