North White Chapel - Kirkwood Branch Bridge Replacement

Please fill out the following form:  White Chapel Bridge Closure Customer Feedback 

Monthly updates will be provided by the 10th of each month (Contractor Schedule Updates)

Temporary Road Closure - North White Chapel Blvd. between Camp Burnett and Bluestem Trailhead

Q. Why is this project necessary?

Although not ideal, low water crossings exist all throughout the state of Texas. The City of Southlake currently monitors low water crossings within its service area during rain events. Overtopping is infrequent at the low water crossings along Kirkwood Branch (Critical Drainage Structure No. 2) and S. Kirkwood Branch (Critical Drainage Structure No. 3) at N. White Chapel Blvd. However, the runoff volume and velocities for significant storm events at these crossings are severe and eventually caused extensive damage during the September 2018 event, including a water rescue.

As a result, N. White Chapel was closed for 6 months while engineers and the contractor were able to design and make the repairs. This work was only permitted to restore and reinforce the existing culvert/roadway until a more suitable design could be properly engineered and permitted to eliminate the low water crossings entirely.

Q. Why do you have to perform a full road closure?

Full road closure is required ultimately due to public safety concerns during construction. These are due to the limited right-of-way available across Army Corps Property, the elevation separation between the existing and proposed bridge crossing, and added requirement to safely divert flows to allow for construction of the bridge improvements.

Q. How long will the road closure last?

The entire project is expected to last 18 months, weather permitting. N. White Chapel will be reopened once all channel, bridge and roadway improvements are constructed to allow for safe passage by the public.

Please continue to check back monthly for project updates on this website. More critical communications will be provided via Orange Barrel Alerts on the  Southlake Facebook  page and at  Connect Southlake .

Q. Will the road closure impact emergency services?

The City has interlocal agreements with neighboring Cities to minimize disruptions to these vital services

Q. Is Sabre Drive between Kirkwood and N. White Chapel available for an alternate detour?

Unfortunately, this is a private road and not available for public use.

Q. Why was this project not constructed immediately after the 2015 or 2018 events?

Approved under the FY 2015 CIP budget (September 2014), this project was known at the time to be a capital-intensive endeavor and require time to accumulate funding unless additional debt or outside funding could be procured. After the 2015 flooding, the additional budget request for the project was increased on an annual basis and alternative funding was being explored to supplement or replace the increased budget.

After the damage sustained during September 2018 event, project funds were utilized to design and construct the emergency repairs, further delaying the design and construction of the permanent replacement. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted and delayed several City CIP projects, and design of the permanent replacement began in January 2021. N. White Chapel experienced flooding and was closed again June 2021. Concurrent to design, environmental, permitting and alternative funding was procured that has led to construction commencing in August 2023.

For All other ongoing city project, please use the following link ( CIP Shortlist ).

Q. Why would we start this project when the SH 114 project is still ongoing?

Several factors determined when the N. White Chapel Bridge Improvements project commenced, including but not limited to scheduling for budgeting/funding, design, environmental, permitting, construction advertisement and award. All these factors culminated in awarding the project in June 2023, with a start date of August 2023. Although not ideal, construction temporarily reduces level of service. Local and through access is still available along posted detours. For the SH 114 project, TXDOT maintains its own traffic control and provides alternate detours, as necessary. This information will made available as soon as made aware from TxDOT’s Contractor via Orange Barrel Alerts on the  Southlake Facebook  page and at  Connect Southlake .

The City understands that N. White Chapel is an important roadway for this area of the City and respectfully request your cooperation during construction of this important project. Road closures usually never occur at an opportune time, especially when they are expected to last several months.

Q. What is the remaining timeline for the SH 114 work?

UPDATE JUNE 2024. Phase 4/5 (Current Phases). Estimated completion is Aug 23, 2024. Ramp Reversals in the westbound direction (Kirkwood Boulevard to Davis Boulevard). Additional Phase 4 work still wrapping up.

Every attempt will be made to update these end dates when they are made available.

Q: Who makes the decision to make road closures?

The goal with all City of Southlake CIP projects is to limit road closures to construction working hours only. However, there are projects where this is unavoidable and requires reduced capacity or full road closure during specific phases and durations of a project.

 City staff work with the design consultants and contractors during design and construction to determine if there is any way to eliminate or limit mobility impacts. All traffic-related items are discussed with the City’s Office of Traffic Management (OTM) team for feedback and coordination, including CIP projects that impact traffic control. Road closures require OTM approval and in this instance, the bridge work requires full closure to safely construct the improvements.

Q: What can we do to limit through traffic within our neighborhood?

The City prefers that an alternate route along collector/arterial roadways to avoid increased traffic along local roadways. The project accomplishes this via. W Bob Jones / T.W. King as the primary detour to the north, and Kirkwood Blvd as the primary detour to the south. Local/neighborhood roads

Please see the Traffic Control Section for the temporary detour.

Q: Can we relocate some sports activities from Bob Jones Park to limit traffic through the area during construction?

We respectfully request your cooperation during construction of this important project. City facilities, including all parks within the area will remain open for the full use and enjoyment of all Southlake residents. Events at the park are typically held on the weekends and during off-peak hours and should not affect normal commute.