HOUSTON – Question: What’s going on with the unsafe construction in northeast Houston?
Answer: Juan Sorto lives on Talton Street and he wants to know why construction in his neighborhood in northeast Houston is taking so long.
The area flooded during Hurricane Harvey and this project is designed to help fix the draining issue.
According to the City of Houston, the work started in March and was scheduled to be complete in July. It’s now October and the street is still torn up.
Sorto says a lot of his neighbors use public transportation and all this makes getting to and from the bus stop a big headache
KPRC 2 Traffic Expert Anavid Reyes reached out to the City of Houston Public Works Department and they said they sent a memo back in March, giving Council Member Jackson in District B a “heads up” about this construction.
Council member’s chief of staff informed KPRC 2 that they physically went out to Talton Street to tell residents: those who chose to come out and chat with them, about the project before it started, but never sent out a notice.
The City of Houston also told me, it’s the contractor’s job to give residents the appropriate written notice about the construction project. The project manager, Jack Cortez, was contacted, but we have not heard back.
The city says if weather is not an issue, this project should wrap up by the end of the month.
Here is the City of Houston’s full statement:
“Talton Street between Forest View and Monterrey is a $532,400 Local Drainage Project which includes installation of a 24″ underground stormwater line with inlets, driveways, curbs, and sidewalks. Houston Public Works notified the Council Member of work in District B and the contractor distributed construction notices within the community in March. The project began in April and is set to wrap up by the end of October. The contractor installed the stormwater line and began the base for the street pavement. Several rain events delayed construction of the street, creating the muddy conditions blocking access to driveways. Houston Public Works reached out to the contractor to build up access to driveways. Construction resumed last Tuesday on the concrete street.. Houston Public Works inspectors are on site to keep an eye on the progress.”