The Northern Gateway Entrance and Corridor Streetscape Improvements project, completed in 2019 with a $6.2 million investment, set the stage for growth. Enhancements included monument signage, pedestrian-friendly improvements, landscaped medians, and streetscape upgrades from Beltway 8 to Broadway.

This initiative, funded and maintained by PEDC, is reshaping State Highway 35 into a thriving, modern business corridor.

Completed Enhancements

The SH 35 corridor improvements included extensive landscaping, pedestrian, and streetscape upgrades designed to enhance aesthetics, safety, and accessibility:

• Tree Relocation & Plantings – 38 crape myrtles were salvaged from the SH 35 medians and replanted along McHard and Barry Rose. In addition, over 800 trees and 13,000 shrubs were planted throughout the corridor, including Eagleston Holly trees in tree wells under paver grates in the Old Town section.

• Irrigation & Concrete Work – New water meters, mains, laterals, drips, and sprays were installed. Concrete under center medians and portions of concrete ditches were removed to accommodate new plantings, tree wells, and trenches for vine plantings.

• Enhanced Pedestrian Plazas – Sidewalks and pedestrian areas were reshaped and expanded with pavers at key intersections. McHard and Broadway intersections received upgraded seat walls with stone veneer, landscaping, and Crape Myrtle plantings.

• Entryway Improvements – Monument signs, planter walls with stone veneer, landscaping, and irrigation were installed at Beltway 8 and Broadway intersections to create welcoming gateways.

• Easement Enhancements – Landscape easements at Cole’s Flea Market, PISD, Busy Bee, and Texas First Bank allowed additional tree, shrub, and grass plantings beyond the right-of-way, with new curbs installed around enhanced areas.

These upgrades collectively improved corridor aesthetics, walkability, and the overall experience for residents, businesses, and visitors.

The Strategy identified the Rice Drier area, as part of Catalyst 2 Business Park North, to create more investment by better positioning the properties in the area for investment. As the City has grown, the area has developed into a light industrial area that created heavy demand on the old narrow roads and generated the need for improved drainage.

In anticipation of and coordination with multiple development on both Rice Drier and Halik roads, infrastructure improvements were completed in three phases:

1. Phase I: Detention capacity and drainage outfall improvements to Town Ditch for reconstructed Rice Drier Road and Halik Street – completed October 2019, $459,018;

2. Phase II: Rice Drier Road Reconstruction – completed January 2021, $1,001,128; and

3. Phase III: Detention and drainage outfall improvements from Halik to Rice Drier, and Halik Street Reconstruction – completed April 2022, $1,606,176.

Reconstructing the roads, water and sewer and constructing the drainage improvements improved the surrounding condition and appearance of the area by replacing the open roadside ditches with curb and storm sewer and adding pedestrian access with a sidewalk and decorative paver strip.