Houston Mayor John Whitmire told KPRC 2 he is committed to having a skywalk built near Milby High School to provide students a safe pathway onto their campus.
Whitmire’s decision comes after Sergio Rodriguez, 15, was hit and killed while on his way to school and attempting to cross in front of a moving train at 2000 Broadway St. near Galveston Road on Monday, Dec. 9.
Whitmire said he has since tasked the city’s public works department with providing him a budget.
“It’s about $6.5 million, [but] money should not be obstacle for protecting the students at Milby High,” said Whitmire.
The mayor said he also plans to sit down with the Union Pacific CEO to discuss his plan.
“We’ll find the money, the city will come up with the money we’ll work with Metro, the county, maybe a federal grant and certainly, I will ask the CEO of Union Pacific to step up and do the right thing,” Whitmire explained further. “We need their right of way, I understand that it’s going to be a major obstacle, they are very protective of their right of way in terms of their liability or people falling or throwing stuff off of the skywalk. We can address that concern,” Whitmire said.
KPRC 2 asked Whitmire when that discussion might take place or if there was a timeline for the project, but he said it was still in its early stages of planning.