Schumacher Area Drainage & Mobility Improvements

The St. George Place Redevelopment Authority (TIRZ 1) contracted with Gauge Engineering for the design of drainage and mobility improvements to the Schumacher area. The streets in the lower southeast quadrant of the TIRZ boundary have mobility and safety issues due to the narrow lanes and are prone to flooding due to inadequate roadside ditches and significant offsite sheet flow. There are also major deficiencies in parking spacing in the area that will be addressed with this project. Other safety issues include lack of sidewalks in the area forcing pedestrian to walk on the edge of the pavement near the deep street ditch.

The key first task was to engineer a typical section that would accommodate 2 lanes of traffic, wide sidewalks, and parallel parking on both sides of the road. Gauge worked closely with the City of Houston to develop a section that met City criteria and achieved the project objectives.

The project scope includes:

• Reconstruct the roadway from a 2-lane asphalt open ditch road to a 2-lane concrete curb and gutter road.
• Roadway configuration included 2 traffic lanes, parallel parking on both sides of the road and sidewalks.
• Complex hydrologic and hydraulics 2D analysis of the drainage system to adequately account for overland flow and ensure no adverse impacts.
• Upgrading the drainage from open ditches to a storm sewer system. In addition, the drainage solution is being evaluated in concert with the ongoing regional solution task.
• Wide 6- and 8-FT sidewalks were also proposed to enhance pedestrian safety, promote a pedestrian friendly environment, and improve connectivity to Anderson Park.
• Roadway limits included: Schumacher Lane (approx. 2,500 LF), Star Lane (approx. 2,500 LF) and Beverley Hill Street (approx. 2,500 LF) from Chimney Rock to Fountain View Drive and Bering Drive (approx. 1,900 LF) from Richmond Avenue to US 59