

The purpose of this project was to convert the existing at-grade crossing of Brazoria County Road 56 (CR 56) and State Highway 288 (SH 288) into a diamond interchange that includes a new overpass bridge and providing access to the newly developed Meridiana Development. Coordination with TXDOT, area landowners, utility companies, and Brazoria County was integral in obtaining approval and acceptance of the project. The main design challenge for this project was to accommodate double intersections on the west side of SH 288 to tie into existing access roads with two-way traffic and a new southbound on-ramp within a close proximity. EHRA coordinated with TxDOT throughout the project from preliminary concepts for the intersection and bridge through final design and construction. Each component of this project was designed in accordance with TxDOT standards and criteria.
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 offered its Landscape Architectural services to complete a Parks and Trails Master Plan for the District.
EHRA worked with the District to create a comprehensive Parks Master Plan, which included recommendations for the development of over two miles of hike/bike trails adjacent to local streets, and within flood control and utility pipeline easements. The District began implementation of the Plan by prioritizing the beautification of West Road, a major arterial street that runs through the District.
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.
In work that could help prevent the failure of everything from bridges to dental implants, a team led by a researcher at Texas A&M University has taken the first 3D image of a microscopic crack propagating through a metal damaged by hydrogen. They have caught the crack red-handed! Previously, the only way to analyze such a metal failure was to look at the separated pieces of a completely fractured component, which entails a certain amount of guesswork. The new research shows what is happening at the crack tip as a part begins to fracture. As a result, the team identified 10 microscopic structures that make metals stronger and less susceptible to a key environmental factor -- the hydrogen around us -- that can damage them.
Their work is published in Nature Communications. It was conducted using two powerful tools at Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source (APS), and represents a milestone for one of those tools as the first experiment performed by researchers outside of the development team at Argonne and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). The study took eight years to complete, primarily because it involved huge amounts of data that were difficult to analyze. The raw data for the work would fill almost 400 DVDs. Further, the data looks nothing like a 3D model of the material.
Source: Texas A&M University/Science Daily