

EHRA completed preliminary engineering, phase one environmental site assessment and schematic development for the widening of Northpark Dr. between US 59 and Woodland Hills Dr. EHRA also provided program management, drainage analysis and design, traffic engineering, environmental documentation and schematic design for the roadway, as well as grade separation at the Loop 494/UPRR railroad crossing.
EHRA conducted traffic operations and access management studies for the Northpark Dr. corridor. This corridor is approximately 2.2 miles long and has major signalized and unsignalized intersections and driveways that access various subdivisions and industrial developments. These studies laid the groundwork for the widening of Northpark Dr. from a four-lane boulevard cross-section to a six-lane boulevard complete street. The new street design includes low impact development drainage, conventional drainage, a grade separation at the UPRR crossing with mechanically stabilized earth retaining walls, two at-grade crossings for bi-directional frontage access, reconstruction of two concrete bridges over a diversion channel, intersection improvements, a roadway-adjacent multiuse path and traffic signal improvements.
Drainage analysis and design included hydrologic and hydraulic studies of both existing and proposed conditions to demonstrate that proposed project components would not adversely affect the 100-year floodplain in the area. The roadway and traffic designs contained horizontal and vertical alignments, cross-sections, plan and profile, sidewalk and bicycle accommodations, intersection layouts, traffic control plans and signing and pavement markings.
As the program management firm, EHRA coordinated with TxDOT, UPRR, the City of Houston Council District E, COH Planning and Development Department, COH Public Works and Engineering Department, Montgomery County, Harris County, HCFCD and area residents throughout the project.
Identified as a top priority during the development of the District’s Parks Master Plan, this portion of trail was the first phase of over two miles of planned trails to provide connectivity and recreation for District residents.
EHRA planners, hydrologists and landscape architects worked together to propose an alternative use for the space, re-developing the basin into an amenity pond. EHRA carefully selected native plant materials for both their ability to survive in the harsh conditions of the basin as well as providing filtration for improved storm water quality.
EHRA was selected by the client to provide engineering design and to serve as District Engineer for the 2,400 acre Towne Lake Development. Our survey department retraced the overall boundary and performed a topographic survey of the site.
EHRA conducted a traffic engineering study to identify the impacts of a proposed master development located near the intersection of FM 1488 and Peoples Road in the City of Conroe.
EHRA Engineering has a legacy as old as Texas itself. My ancestors were original settlers of the state, one of the Stephen F. Austin’s ‘Old 300’ families, and put down roots on the west bank of the San Bernard River, four miles west of Brazoria. My grandfather grew up on a farm in Leavenworth, Kansas, born in 1878; he was one of 12 children. As he came of age, he left the farm to follow his ambitions having learned the trade of surveying. After extensive world travel including survey work on the first railroad bult in the Philippines, he landed softly in Houston, Texas. This is where the EHRA legacy began.
TC Edminster, Sr. worked for the City of Houston. His signature appears on several historic plats including the annexation of Woodland Heights, Cottage Grove and the land in Iowa Colony where EHRA, coincidentally, is currently constructing the Meridiana Master Planned Community. My grandmother attended Massey Business School and later took a secretarial position in downtown Houston. It was here that she met my grandfather who was 11 years her senior. In 1910, they were married and began their life together.
In 1936, TC Edminster, Sr. opened his own business on Kirby Drive at Sunset Boulevard. For some perspective, this was the edge of town at the time, and the roadway was made of crushed stone. In fact, in those days it was said that “nothing good happened west of Kirby Drive.” Subsequently, TC Edminster, Jr. (my father) was coming of age. While attending Texas A&M University, World War II broke out and my dad was commissioned to serve.
He wound up in Southern France not long after the Battle of Normandy as an Adjunct to a General. It was here that he met my mother, ‘Johnnie’, a US Army Nurse. They were married in Marseilles, France and soon after the war ended. Dad returned to Texas A&M to complete his degree in Civil Engineering. Unfortunately, my grandfather had grown ill, and shortly after my father’s graduation, my grandfather passed away. That is when my father took the helm of Edminster Engineering.
In the early years it was a true family business. My grandfather, Truman Edminster, Sr., my cousin, Terry Russ and his wife, Cynthia all worked there. Did you notice that Terry was my dad’s nephew and my first cousin? And yes, Terry and Cynthia are Jim’s mom and dad! The business grew during the ‘60’s and by 1968, Edminster Engineering had more work than personnel. So, a merger occurred with Conrad S. Hinshaw’s company, and thus began the eventual meld of Houston based businesses to form the EHRA we know today.
I am proud of my heritage, of my Houston legacy and that I see my family’s name on original documents that shaped the City we call home. This year, as we celebrate our 85th Anniversary, I look forward to sharing more stories of Houstonian legacy with other members of our industry and proving that these waters run deep from the ground down.