La Porte approves expedited start windows for Boyd Boulevard stormwater work, cites $2.5M federal grant

The Board of Public Works and Safety on May 6 approved a request allowing the Boyd Boulevard stormwater improvement contractor to stage trucks on-site as early as 6:00 a.m. Monday–Saturday to meet tight schedule constraints. Project engineers told the board pipe work is planned to start June 1 and substantial completion is targeted for Sept. 5, with an expected large earth-moving requirement (described during the meeting as roughly 8,800 dump trucks of material).

City staff said the project expands an existing detention facility and will increase pond capacity by a multiple compared with current conditions; it includes new pipe connections along State Road 2 and Darlington and an overflow structure draining into Travis Ditch that engineering staff have reviewed. Project funding includes about $2.5 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and the city has bonded for roughly half the project cost.

Board members discussed the construction-hours request in the context of the Microsoft-hours approval earlier in the meeting and agreed to approve project-specific early starts rather than change the city’s construction-hours ordinance citywide. The board noted staff will revisit permissions if operations cause neighborhood or traffic impacts.

The motion to permit the Boyd project contractor to commence daily site arrivals as early as 6:00 a.m. and to work Saturdays carried. Staff said they would coordinate with county drainage officials and the wastewater team on downstream impacts.