Thursday, March 28, 2024

N. White Chapel Widening Project On Schedule and Making Major Headway

The end of the school year is right around the corner and while that means summer break for many, it’s rock and roll time for the N. White Chapel widening project. N. White Chapel from Highland to SH 114 will have a totally new look by the time school is back in session.

Despite some intervention from Mother Nature with some heavy rain falls, the project is pretty much on schedule. Most recently in mid-April, crews closed a section of east Highland to begin construction of the east side of the dual-lane roundabout.

If you’ve driven through the N. White Chapel and Highland intersection, you can see the roundabout starting to take shape. The old pavement has been removed and crews are working on leveling the surface in preparation to pave. Work on this side of the roundabout is expected to be completed by early June so work on the other side of the roundabout can begin.

New pavement is in on the southbound lanes and is closer to joining with the existing pavement close to the intersection of N. White Chapel and SH 114. Meanwhile what’s left to pave on the northbound traffic side is formed up to be ready to pave. Weather permitting the contractor hopes to have paving of the new traffic lanes completed in a few weeks.

“It’s great to be able to actually see the roundabout taking shape,” notes City Engineer and Deputy Director of Public Works Kyle Hogue. “So far 70 percent of the work has been completed. Up next is the completion of the roundabout, installation of public art in the roundabout, landscaping and new sidewalks.”

As with any construction project, drivers are encouraged to be extra aware of their surroundings and if possible avoid the area.

In the meantime, if you haven’t already, follow Southlake Mobility on Facebook for all the up-to-date mobility news in Southlake. You can also visit the website at www.ConnectSouthlake.com.

Want the Low Down on White Chapel? Here it is.

Behind the 30 mph speed limit on Randol Mill Avenue, all the action on White Chapel Boulevard comes in a close second to one of the most talked about roadways in Southlake.

White Chapel has had its fair share of activity in the past months, some planned and some not.  At the most recent City Council meeting, March 19, 2019, addressing the past, present and future Public Works Director Rob Cohen provided an update on everything White Chapel.

The past.

The Kirkwood Branch Culvert Crossing on N. White Chapel, near Bob Jones Park, has been repaired and the road is open again! Fall of 2018 was not kind to the culvert crossing, in September the roadway was damaged by flood waters causing the closure of the road. The City responded quickly and by October, an emergency repair was declared. By the end of November, the contractor was in place and repair work was underway. Despite a rainy couple of months, crews completed the repair work in early March. By March 11, a newly repaired safer crossing was open, once again opening a main thoroughfare in the north end of Southlake.

The present.

The North White Chapel widening project is moving along, pretty much right on schedule. Remember this is a two-phase project. The first phase is the widening from Highland to SH 114 and includes a new dual-lane roundabout at the intersection of Highland and N. White Chapel. Phase two will widen N. White Chapel from Emerald to Highland.

Since starting on phase 1 in spring of 2018, contractors have moved a lot of dirt and made great progress! Utilities have been relocated, drains have been built, and new roadway has been paved. If you’ve been following along with progress on Facebook with Southlake Mobility, you’ve seen that the roundabout is starting to take shape. With about 60 percent of the work completed there are a few major milestones to be on the lookout for in the coming months. In order to complete the roundabout, there will be two main closures on Highland this summer. The first one will be the east side of the intersection, and once that work is completed crews will close the west side of the intersection. Although getting through Highland will be more difficult during the closures, mobility will be maintained along N. White Chapel.

Director Cohen also mentioned a recent traffic control plan revision along the westbound SH114 frontage road at the request of TxDOT. Previously, traffic on the westbound frontage road turning under the overpass to access N. White Chapel had to merge underneath the overpass. Now the inside left turn lane has been closed down so all of the left turning traffic under the overpass will be consolidated to one lane before the traffic light.

Bids for phase two of the project are currently under review. While there is no roundabout work with this phase of the project, it will bring a much needed wider roadway in front of the high school. The plan is to award a bid in the next few months and getting utility relocation started.

Director Cohen also noted an emphasis on sharing information about the project. “As with phase one of the project, our goal is to communicate as much as we can,” said Cohen. “We know that while construction is ongoing, it will make traveling on N. White Chapel a little more cumbersome. I’d really like to encourage people to follow the Southlake Mobility Facebook page. We plan to be aggressive with the information we share. And if people enjoy seeing the progress pictures and videos we post, all the better.”

The future.

Construction is shifting south on White Chapel in 2020. Initiated by TxDOT, the bridge that connects Pleasant Run in Colleyville to White Chapel in Southlake, will be completely rebuilt. The Cities of Southlake and Colleyville will partner with TxDOT to help complete the project.

Repair work on the bridge was completed in 2015. TxDOT, Southlake and Colleyville also worked together at the time. The work included removing sand and rocks from around the bridge supports and addressed channel erosion around the base of the bridge.

As of now, the replacement project is scheduled to start in early 2020 and be completed by late 2020 or early 2021. While planning is still in progress, early plans include a new sidewalk on the new bridge. As the project gets closed to starting, we will share more information about the traffic changes that will come from the project.

In the meantime, if you haven’t already, follow Southlake Mobility on Facebook for all the up-to-date mobility news in Southlake. You can also visit the website at www.ConnectSouthlake.com.

N. White Chapel Bridge Construction Update

Construction crews continue to make progress on the N. White Chapel Culvert crossing bridge.

The road has been closed since late September when heavy rain and floodwater caused structural damage.

While the weather has improved, several environmental factors have caused some delays. City staff along with construction crews devised a plan to help continue progress.

“We made adjustments to the piling in an attempt to drain the creek quicker, as pumping typically occurs rather slowly,” explained Deputy Director of Public Works and City Engineer, Kyle Hogue. “We have also resumed excavation of the west upstream headwall.”

While construction has been underway since just after Thanksgiving, the city is working to potentially prevent future damages during inclement weather.

A few weeks ago Council Member John Huffman visited the site. “This short term solution is making everything safe, making everything drivable, in really the shortest timeframe possible” stated Council Member John Huffman in his Facebook Live video. Check out the video to get an up-close look at construction.

You can stay up-to-date by visiting www.ConnectSouthlake.com and the Southlake Mobility Facebook page.

Brumlow Lane Closures Coming October 6 and 7

TEXRail construction teams will be closing the northbound lanes of Brumlow Avenue at the intersection of SH 26 on October 6 and 7. This will be a daily closure from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to allow crews to install signal detection within the pavement.

Motorists should try and avoid the area if possible during the closures. To get more construction updates about the project, visit the TEXRail Construction website at: https://ridetrinitymetro.org/texrail/status/construction-updates/

Connect Southlake | Stephanie Taylor

“In an attractive, growing community such as Southlake, one has to adapt to change quickly in addition to balancing often competing interests. I’m looking forward to helping support the highest quality of life for Southlake as a world-class community.”

Stephanie Taylor is the City of Southlake’s first Transportation Manager. Her job and the job of the City’s Traffic Management team is to help connect Southlake residents to where they need to go safely and efficiently, which is why the lead line on her Linked-In biography will serve her well in Southlake: “Dedicated to improving equity, access, and safety for all road users.”

For Stephanie it’s not just about building roads, it’s about listening, planning and thinking through complex mobility problems while preserving pedestrian and driver safety.  It’s also about how those new and rehabilitated roads will be maintained and connect neighborhoods and communities.  It’s a good thing she has a passion for people and working with them to figure out practical solutions for extraordinarily complex mobility challenges.

“I am fortunate to have been able to get in the trenches and work with concerned residents to address their needs directly throughout my career,” said Taylor.  In the City of Falls Church, Virginia, Taylor worked with a citizen committee to help create safe times and places for kids to play in the street and allow families to interact with each other “further dispelling the myth that traffic engineers only care about vehicles.”

“Stephanie gets it when it comes to figuring out how to get people to places they desire to go,” said Public Works Director Rob Cohen.  “Her proven ability to listen, formulate and develop an action plan adds tremendous capability to our team’s focus on improving mobility throughout the City.”

Alongside her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering, she has also learned how to use technology to turn sustainable ideas into better mobility and better connectivity.

“Nothing is more important for a public employee than valuing the strength and the safety of the community she serves,” added Cohen.

We couldn’t agree more! Now about that intersection at Dove and SH 114…

Traffic Switch on Kirkwood Blvd.

Beginning on 3/15, traffic will be switched on Kirkwood Blvd. between Stockton Drive and Tyler Street.

This is part of the City’s Kirkwood widening project. This traffic switch is to make drainage improvements on the existing lanes.

The current traffic pattern has the westbound lanes divided into two-way traffic. The inside lane will be closed with the westbound traffic maintaining the westbound lane. The inside lane of the new eastbound lane will be open for eastbound traffic.

If you have any questions, please contact Steve Anderson at (817) 748-8101.

Parts of Continental Blvd to be Re-surfaced This Summer

Continental Boulevard from Davis Boulevard to just east of Byron Nelson Parkway will be resurfaced this summer.

The City Council approved a joint agreement with Tarrant County at the March 6, 2018 meeting to move the $450,000 project forward.

“When complete, this resurfacing will give drivers a much smoother ride,” said Public Works Director Rob Cohen. “This is a busy area of our City, and these types of investments are important to help people get around town as efficiently and safely as possible.”

As part of this partnership, the City will mill the roadway, make any necessary repairs, manage all traffic control, and be responsible for striping. The County will use their resources, including labor and heavy equipment, to pave the asphalt roadway.

This project is scheduled for summer 2018 to avoid school traffic and to minimize the impact on drivers.

For questions about this project please call (817) 748-8082.

 

Eastbound SH 114 Closed Evening of 3/10 East of Texan Trail

This weekend, work on the TEXRail project will close SH 114 eastbound lanes east of Texan Trail beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday, 3/10, reopening at 5 a.m. Sunday, 3/11.

The closure allows for construction to continue on the new TEXRail train bridge from Grapevine into Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. During that time, concrete beams will be placed on the new pillars for the bridge.

This is the first closure needed for installing beams and constructing the 1,400-foot-long bridge over the next couple months. The new bridge will have one track for TEXRail and is being built with the ability for a second set of tracks to be installed.

Additionally, the eastbound Highway 114 connector ramp east of Texan Trail will be closed between 8 p.m. Monday, March 12, and 5 a.m. Tuesday, March 13.

Detours will be:

  • From Highway 121 northbound – vehicles will be directed to exit at the Main Street / Texan Trail exit. Vehicles will continue down the frontage road past Texan Trail and will be able to enter Highway 114 again prior to International Parkway.
  • From Highway 114 southbound – vehicles will be directed to exit at the Texan Trail exit. Vehicles will continue down the frontage road past Texan Trail and will be able to enter Highway 114 again prior to International Parkway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The preceding information was provided to the City of Southlake by the TEXRail.  For more information about TEXRail please visit TEXRail.com

Take Control of How You Connect: How to Manage Your Southlake Connect Account

It’s spring time in Texas. This means crazy weather! Want to stay informed of upcoming severe weather? You can use Southlake Connect, the City of Southlake’s new notification tool.

As part of Southlake’s commitment to public safety, community awareness and emergency preparedness, Southlake Connect allows users to receive emergency information including, severe weather alerts to be delivered directly to their mobile device. All you have to do is create an account.

Once you’ve created an account, you can select how you want to receive alerts, set your quiet hours and select the type of notifications you’d like to receive.

So, how do you manage your account?

Once you log into your Southlake Connect account you are taken to your profile. Here is where you begin to manage your settings.

Southlake Connect Profile Page

There are three boxes that allow you to manage different parts of your account. The “My Profile” box allows you edit any part of your profile. Need to remove a phone number, or add an email address? Select the “Edit” button and begin to make changes to your profile as needed. The other thing to note in the “My Profile” is the “Delete My Account” button towards the bottom. This deletes your entire account from the Southlake Connect System. By clicking this button, you will no longer receive any notifications from the City of Southlake, including severe weather.

Don’t want to delete your entire account, but don’t want to receive all those phone calls? You can manage the alerts you receive in the “My Alert Subscription” box. Hit the “Edit” button to begin editing.

Alert Subscription Management

This page allows you to select what type of notifications you’d like to receive. You can select the type of community alerts and weather notifications you want to receive. There are a total of 176 weather notification options. Please note, if you simply select the box next to the word weather, you will be selecting all 176 notifications.

This page is also where users can select their quiet period. You can select when you would not like to be contacted. If you do not enter a specific times, the quiet period will default to the City’s quiet period of 10:00 PM – 6:00 AM.

Southlake Connect is a great tool to help you stay informed. You can learn more about the system here. If you have any questions about the weather notifications feature, please contact the Emergency Management Coordinator Eric Hutmacher at (817) 748-8624.