Fannin Street Project Enters New Phase

The Fannin Street reconstruction project will enter a new phase in mid-July when excavation and construction shift from the west side of Fannin to the east side.

Northbound traffic on Fannin will be on the new concrete surface - the two lanes closest to the curb. Southbound traffic will be in the middle two lanes of the street. (Fannin is a six-lane street.)

Construction on the Fannin Street project began in October; the entire project is scheduled to last 15 months.

Construction on the east side of the street will largely affect the Hermann Professional Building, Prairie View A& M School of Nursing, Smith Tower, Scurlock Tower, the Marriott Medical Center Hotel, Medical Towers, and St. Luke's Medical Towers. Entrances to these buildings will be maintained, but there will inevitably be some slowing of traffic flow. Left- and right-hand turns - both northbound and southbound - will be possible. METRO officers will be helping to direct traffic.

Excavation work on the east side of the street is necessary to replace two utilities, the sanitary pipeline (at a depth of 14-15') and the storm sewer line (depth of 12-13'). Like the west side of the street, the east side will be paved in concrete.

"Much of the hardest part has been completed," says Larry Wepler, resident engineer on the project. "The water line is in and the lines running across Fannin were put in during our night work these past few months." The night work was necessary to avoid shutting down the street entirely during the busy daytimes.

The new storm sewer line on the east side will be 36" in diameter in most areas and will greatly aid in helping runoff and preventing flooding. This drain will descend to a depth of about 20' at the intersection of M.D. Anderson Blvd. and Fannin where it will link into the 15' square box culvert system running underground to Brays Bayou.

Replacement of the three utilities was necessary because they were old, decayed and inadequate for the building expansion occurring on Fannin Street.

Additionally, the surface of Fannin has greatly deteriorated and in places has crumbled. The concrete surface is much stronger than asphalt and will better tolerate bus traffic on the outermost lanes.

"We are committed to making this project as trouble-free as possible for the institutions on Fannin," says Wepler. "We'll work Saturdays and nights to complete it on schedule and to avoid inconvenience."

The $6.7 million Fannin Street project is being financed by METRO and the City of Houston.

- ROGER WIDMEYER

---

©2006 Texas Medical Center

---

E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/07_15_00/page_03.html