PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Sims Bayou Federal Flood Damage Reduction Project, a project of the Harris County Flood Control District in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, includes 19.3 miles of bayou enlargements and environmental enhancements along Sims Bayou from the Houston Ship Channel to Croquet Lane, just west of South Post Oak Road. The project requires the replacement or modification of 22 bridges, 21 of which are complete. As the local sponsor, the Flood Control District has been responsible for property acquisition, utility relocation and the modification/replacement of the bridges that cross Sims Bayou. The bridges are designed to minimize obstruction to the flow of stormwater in Sims Bayou.
Construction on the South Post Oak bridge began in 2012. To maintain traffic along this heavily traveled corridor during construction, only one side of the bridge has been taken out of service at a time. Northbound and southbound traffic is being managed through the construction zones.
During the second and final construction phase for the South Post Oak Bridge, which began in April 2012, the two-lane southbound road bridge has been closed and all traffic is detoured to the two-lane northbound bridge. Traffic runs one lane in each direction on the newly constructed northbound bridge between Heatherbrook Drive and Trafalgar Drive. Construction is scheduled to be complete by the end of April 2015.
The Flood Control District communicates construction and bridge closure schedules to the media and to the public in advance of each phase of the project. Motorists are encouraged to be alert, to pay attention to all posted street and lane closures and to follow traffic detours in the area.