News
Northwest Weekly - August 6, 2009posted on 08/06/2009
Flood Projects to be Initiated in Ingram Area
That stretch of Ingram Road crosses Leon Creek and Huebner Creek which converge just south of Ingram Road.
By the beginning of 2012 a 1,716-foot long Ingram Road bridge will run from Potranco Road to the VIA Ingram Transit Center and span the low lying area providing safe passage in flooding conditions.
The $12 million bridge was one of the projects mentioned at a public workshop July 28 at Pueblo Hall, 3315 Northwestern, and sponsored by San Antonio, Bexar County and the San Antonio River Authority.
It may be ironic to a hold public meeting on flood control during a summer drought, but local officials have a simple answer: 1998 and 2002.
“Local people remember the historic floods of those years and we had many of them mentioned the floods at earlier workshops like this,” said Arturo Villarreal Jr., Bexar County Flood Control Division Manager.
Historic floods in 1998 and 2002 brought San Antonio, Bexar County and local suburban cities together to plan for better flood control, said Bexar County Pct. 2 Commissioner Paul Elizondo, whose area includes the Northwest Side.
“Those jurisdictions formed the Bexar Regional Watershed Management Partnership that looks at flood control on the five watersheds in Bexar County,” Elizondo said.
Another positive thing that came out of the 1998 and 2002 floods was approval by Bexar County voters of a 10-year, $500 million flood control program, the commissioner.
“The Ingram Road Bridge has been on the books for a long time and is one of the first ones in that $500 million flood control program,” Villarreal said.
At its tallest, the four-lane Ingram Road Bridge will be about 20 feet above the ground.
“In November 2010 work will start on moving utilities underground along that section of Ingram Road. Then construction on the bridge will start in January 2011 and be through 10 months later,” Villarreal said.
Business owners at nearby Ingram Park Mall and the surrounding area asked Bexar officials if they could start work after the Christmas season 2010 and finish before Christmas season 2011 and that is the plan, he said.
“The Ingram Road bridge will be one of the longest in the area and will provide safe passage for residents, business owners, shoppers and especially for emergency vehicles,” Villarreal told attendees at the workshop.
The bridge also will eliminate one of the worst low-water crossings in the city,” the Bexar official added.
The other project will cost around $20 million and goes along Huebner Creek from Bandera Road to Loop 410.
It is slated to run from November 2011 to June 2012 and be in three parts.
One part is the buyout of about 30 homes in Leon Valley that sit adjacent to Huebner Creek and flood often.
The second part is to improve channelization of Huebner Creek behind houses on Timberhill Drive.
The channelization will include restoring the creek's natural look (no concrete) and working with San Antonio to turn the area into a park, Villarreal said.
The third part of the Huebner Creek Enhanced Conveyance project is putting up barriers to protect business along the Loop 410 access road where Leon Creek runs behind the businesses, Villarreal said.
For more information on the Bexar Regional Watershed Management Partnership click on www.BexarFloodControl.org.