Crews from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) have been repairing, restoring and resolving issues caused by Hurricane Beryl.
Hurricane Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Matagorda on July 8 and moved through the Houston area. The storm brought five to ten inches of rain in some areas and had winds of up to 80 mph.
The storm claimed the lives of three people in the Houston area.
TxDOT crews in Houston immediately began their assessment of the damage, sending out crews to report high water areas, downed signs, fallen trees and debris, and damaged signals.
“We knew the damage was extensive throughout all six counties, with the coastal counties being the most affected,” said Melody Galland, TxDOT’s director of maintenance in Houston, in a statement. “All Houston District sections immediately started the recovery efforts and have worked tirelessly to restore us to our pre-storm condition.”
To streamline operations, TxDOT set up a base camp in Sugar Land to serve as a center for the fleet of bucket trucks and crash cushion trucks, while also providing living quarters for the crews. TxDOT workers from all over Texas travelled to Houston to aid in the repair efforts.
Beryl left 1,254 signals damaged and over 4,800 signs downed, according to TxDOT. As of now, TxDOT has resolved 1,214 of the damaged signals and repaired 3,901 signs. Additionally, TxDOT deployed over 80 generators around the district to power dark signals.
“The recovery would have taken much longer if we didn’t have the help of all the responding crews and contracting community,” said Galland. “So, it was a joint effort to get us to this stage in just two weeks after Hurricane Beryl landfall.”
As cleanup efforts continue predominantly in residential neighborhoods, Houston’s city council approved a contract with four disaster debris removal companies that could cost up to $120 million according to Houstonpublicmedia.org.
The contract will require the companies to provide supplemental labor, equipment, and any supervision needed to move debris from the city's streets to approved landfills.
Source: The Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Tribune, Houstonpublicmedia.org
