HOUSTON – Big plans are happening at Houston’s Memorial Park.
The Memorial Park Standards Committee, a partnership comprised of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Memorial Park Conservancy, the Kinder Foundation, and Uptown Development Authority are almost finished with the transformational Land Bridge and Prairie project.
If you’ve driven through Memorial Park lately, you’ve probably seen the construction of new tunnels.
“This is a dream,” President and CEO of Memorial Park Conservancy Shellye Arnold said.
That dream is turning into reality.
The Memorial Park Land Bridge and Prairie project is a $70,000,000 infrastructure that will reunite the north and south sides of the park by creating a land bridge over Memorial Drive. It will create a place for Houstonians to explore and enjoy.
“I’m really excited. I actually work out early in the morning in the park with a free men’s workout group called F3 Houston, and we are really excited to have some more areas to push ourselves,” Jeremy Herschaft said.
On Saturday, people got an exclusive walk-through of one of the project’s four tunnels that will soon open to drivers. Shellye Arnold is the President and CEO of Memorial Park Conservancy.
“This project was designed as a 100-acre project land, bridge, and prairie project to better absorb the stormwater that regularly ravages Houston,” Arnold said.
Arnold says the project will also restore nearly 45 acres of native coastal prairie and provide greater safety and connectivity. Council members say it’s a win for the city.
“Just the restoration of the prairie and the flood mitigation is going to be huge. The flood protection, the flood prevention for the surrounding neighborhoods,” City Council member for District C Abbie Kamin said.
“I think what we are doing is taking our reputation for being the energy capital of the world which we are going to continue to be, but we are becoming the green capital of the world. The energy transformation,” City Council Member At Large for Position 2 David Robinson said.
The project wouldn’t be possible without contributions from The Kinder Foundation and The Wolff Family Foundation.
“When it’s finished, you’re going to be able to walk up on top, get great views of the skyline and the city, the Galleria area,” Rich Kinder said. “So, it’s an opportunity to transform an urban jewel in Houston.”
Parts of the tunnel will open in March and April.
The entire project should be complete by the end of the year.
To learn more about the project, click here.