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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-05-09 Euless Articles‘Main’ Artery Through Euless To Reopen Soon April 26, 2017 1:19 PM By Matt Thomas There is some hope for drivers in Euless who’ve been missing the main drag through town because of a massive road construction project that is overhauling miles of Hwy 183. At a meeting Wednesday to update more than a dozen business owners, Selma Stockstill with the Midtown Express Project said they’ll have Euless Main re-opened to its original capacity by late next month, and it’ll be all-new and usable at 183 by the end of the year Replacing beams and knocking the bridge out was necessary to complete the around $850 million dollar undertaking. “We’re currently on schedule, and we are expecting to be substantially complete by Summer 2018,” Stockstill said. They have a lot of roadway to straighten out. Denise Jenkins has run a passport and visa service in Euless for more than 30 years, and she asked whether the Midtown Express will be a seamless transition with the North Tarrant Express. “It’s constantly a mess there I don’t care if there’s construction there or not. You’ve got people exiting the tollway from the left side of the road trying to get all the way to the right side and there’s constant accidents,” said Jenkins. Euless Main Street bridge over Texas 183 to partially open in June By Elizabeth Campbell liz@star-telegram.com EULESS Business owners and city officials applauded when Southgate Constructors announced Wednesday that the Main Street bridge is scheduled to “partially” open by the end of June. Selma Santin, public information manager for Southgate Constructors, the firm that is overseeing the $847 million Midtown Express project, said the partial opening means the bridge will have its original capacity of two northbound and two southbound lanes. “We’re hoping the weather is wonderful for the next four to six weeks,” she said. Southgate Constructors, the firm overseeing the Midtown Express project, says that the Main Street bridge, which was demolished last June, will partially open at the end of June, meaning drivers can once again get from north to south Euless. Southgate Constructors Santin added that all of the work on the Main Street bridge should be finished by the end of the year. Matt Sanman, public information coordinator for Southgate Constructors, said in an email that when the bridge is complete it will have eight lanes total: two northbound lanes, two southbound lanes, a dedicated left turn northbound onto westbound Texas 183 frontage road, a dedicated left turn lane from southbound Main Street onto eastbound Texas 183 frontage road, one dedicated U-turn from eastbound Texas 183 frontage road to westbound Texas 183 frontage road, one dedicated U-turn from westbound Texas 183 frontage road to eastbound Texas 183 frontage road Last weekend, workers set 36 beams, 18 on each side of the bridge. After the bridge over Texas 183 was demolished, drivers couldn’t get from north to south Euless without taking detours that were sometimes as long as 15 minutes. The demolition and replacement of the Main Street bridge is part of the Midtown Express, an $847 million project to reconstruct Texas 183 from Euless to Interstate 35E in Dallas. The project includes rebuilding main lanes on Texas 183, improving access roads and ramps and adding one toll lane in each direction The Midtown Express project is an extension of the $2.5 billion North Tarrant Express in Bedford and Hurst. When the work is completed, the 28-mile corridor of Northeast Loop 820 and Texas 121/183 will be rebuilt from Interstate 35W to Interstate 35E in Dallas. Mayor Linda Martin said she is looking forward to the partial reopening of the bridge. “This is going to mean so much to the mom-and-pop businesses,” she said. Ahmed Ramadan and his business partner, Ghazi Babiker, who opened Hala Cafe on North Main and Midway Boulevard, said they are glad that the bridge will open in June. Ramadan said the restaurant opened shortly after the bridge was demolished, and he was having a hard time attracting customers, but he is looking forward to business picking up. “It was a very slow progress; we had to work really hard to reach out to the Euless community. We are excited about the fact that we will be able to reach out to customers,” he said. Ramadan said he also bought a home in Euless because he wants to be part of the community. “I really believe that (the partial opening of the bridge) will have a huge impact in our business. People will be able to drive back and forth on Main Street.” Elizabeth Campbell: 817-390-7696, @fwstliz Euless connecting Little Bear Creek Trail to Glade Parks By Nicholas Sakelaris Special to Star-Telegram EULESS The final piece of the Little Bear Creek Trail is under construction and will soon connect neighborhoods and apartments to the retail and restaurants at the Glade Parks project. "You’ll be able to go east to west through our city on one continuous trail," said Ray McDonald, the city’s director of parks and recreation. "The trail will access all the retail and restaurants there." The 7/10-mile extension passes under Texas 121 and winds through the woods south of Glade Parks. It’s expected to be completed this summer or early fall. Glade Parks, a major development featuring retail, urban lofts and single-family homes, features anchor stores such as Dave and Busters, 24 Hour Fitness, Belk and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Later this year, a luxury 12-screen Cinépolis movie theater will be added to the mix. There also are hundreds of apartments already built and single-family homes in the works at Glade Parks. Most of the Little Bear Creek Trail has so far been paved through the wooded area. Workers still need to pave the trail between Rio Grande Boulevard, under Texas 121 to Industrial Boulevard to connect to the existing Little Bear Creek Trail. Retaining walls and other work also remains to be done. McDonald said construction on the $900,000 trail started in January and will take another three or four months to complete, weather permitting. The city received a federal grant to cover the cost of the project. The city paid about $350,000 in engineering costs. The expansion of the Little Bear Creek Trail in Euless now stretches to the city's western boundary. Nicholas Sakelaris Special to Star-Telegram Euless will end the trail at Heritage Avenue, the border with Colleyville. Where it goes from there has yet to be determined, McDonald said. There are sidewalks along Heritage Avenue to connect to Colleyville to the west and Grapevine to the north. The Cotton Belt Trail has a seamless connection at the Grapevine/Colleyville border now that the first phase of the Texas 26 widening is complete. That project widened the bridge at Big Bear Creek to include a trail connecting the two cities. McDonald said Euless is in talks with the city of Colleyville about extending the Little Bear Creek Trail west. "That’s what we’re trying to work through with the city of Colleyville right now is to find where that link would be to continue through their city," McDonald said. Arbor Daze festival continues tree legacy A group of youngsters participate in a hoola hoop demonstration Saturday during the Arbor Daze in Euless at the Euless Family Life Center 300 West Midway Drive. The demonstration was led by students from the Watauga Hoola Hoop School at the Watauga Recreation Center. Lance Murray EULESS Thanks to the Parks and Recreation Department in Euless the Arbor Daze Festival builds community spirit one acorn at a time. At the annual event Saturday at the Euless Family Life Center at 300 W. Midway Drive, park officials were prepared with 3,000 trees to give away to festival goers. Park officials said the Red Oak saplings are grown throughout the year from acorns native to north Texas. Nathan Nelson lowers a tree into a bag being held by son, Evan, from Cub Scout Pack 387. The pack helped bag and distribute the red oak trees given free to festivalgoers during Arbor Daze at the Euless Family Life Center. Lance Murray Ray McDonald, Euless Director of Parks and Recreation Department said the goal of the annual event is “to give away trees to commemorate Arbor Day.” Euless proudly touts being a Tree City USA recipient for 30 years and has given away more than 150,000 trees since the the Arbor Daze celebration began 25 years ago. “Tree City USA evolved from a festival geared towards trees to what it is today,” McDonald said. The Euless festival was complete with not only trees, but also a host of carnival rides, inflatables, food, vendor booths, pony rides and a diverse lineup of live entertainment. Alice Murray Stephanie Johnson and Logan Johnson receive their red oak tree from Erica Smalls during Arbor Daze Saturday at the Euless Family Life Center. Lance Murray Colorfully-costumed Japanese dancers from the Miyagi Ryu Nosho-Kasi Dance and Okinawa Drum group, perform on the Main Stage at Arbors Daze Saturday in Euless. Lance Murray U.S. Concrete tops Street 1Q forecasts Associated Press May 4, 2017 EULESS, Texas (AP) _ U.S. Concrete Inc. (USCR) on Thursday reported first-quarter net income of $6.9 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. On a per-share basis, the Euless, Texas-based company said it had profit of 42 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 55 cents per share. The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 17 cents per share. The concrete and aggregates producer posted revenue of $299.1 million in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $282.2 million. U.S. Concrete shares have decreased 5.5 percent since the beginning of the year. The stock has fallen 4 percent in the last 12 months. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on USCR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/USCR Tongan mother and daughter lose their bids in Euless election By Elizabeth Campbell MAY 07, 2017 3:04 liz@star-telegram.com Euless Mayor Linda Martin. www.rawlinsonphotography.com EULESS A Tongan mother and daughter were defeated in their first run for mayor and for a city council seat on Saturday. Linda Martin won a decisive margin to serve another three-year term as mayor, defeating Tupou Helu Uhatafe with 2,351 or 84 percent of the vote in complete but unofficial returns. Uhatafe drew 461 votes. In the Place 2 race, incumbent Jeremy Tompkins defeated political newcomers Salman Bhojani and Vera Layton, receiving 1,684 or 55 percent of the vote. Bhojani drew 1,330 votes and Layton 70 votes. “I am so humbled and proud that the citizens of Euless let me serve for another three years,” Martin said. Martin praised the hard work of all of the candidates to get people out to the polls. Euless is booming with developments including the popular Glade Parks and with the Midtown Express project, which will replace the Main Street bridge and reconstruct Texas 183. Tompkins also praised the voters, saying that “Euless spoke.” “This is my performance review,” Tompkins said. “They voted for me to have a second term.” In Bedford, Amy Sabol won the Place 3 seat in the special election to fill the unexpired term of Ray Champney, who died of lung cancer this year. She received 1,353 or 66 percent of the votes in complete unofficial returns, while her opponents Jeannette Cook got 527 or 26 percent and Oliver D. Kite got 178 or 9 percent of the votes. “I was so pleased with the outcome,” Sabol said. I had never run for anything; it was the first time for me,” she said. Sabol will serve the two years left in Champney’s term. Incumbents Roger Fisher and Michael Boyter won re-election in Places 4 and 6. In the Place 4 race, Boyter garnered 1,580 or 79 percent of the votes, while Charles Wayne Tyson received 426 or 21 percent. Boyter, who was heading to a victory party, said he will celebrate, but he is ready to work hard for Bedford. “There are so many people in Bedford who are proactive. This is kind of a group hug for everybody,” he said. In Place 6, Fisher defeated political newcomer Lisa Roberson with 1,303 or 61 percent while Roberson received 746 or 36 percent of the votes.