Ensuring that Missouri City motorists can continue to cruise in comfort, the Public Works Department has completed improvements on a major thoroughfare and is starting work on several other roadways.

The 11-month-long project to completely replace a two-mile stretch of Turtle Creek Drive from Texas Parkway to Mission Valley is now substantially complete.

“The existing road was old and had reached the end of its life span,” explained Project Manager Valerie Ruda, of the Missouri City Public Works Department. “The road has been reconfigured with safety in mind, the sidewalks are now smooth and level and the new road should last another 25 years.”

The improvements to Turtle Creek Drive included:

*Realigning Turtle Creek through Roane Park, so all practice fields are on the same side of the road, ensuring safety for families in the park.

*Creating more parking spaces and adding a new football field

*Reconstructing the bridge over Mustang Bayou

*Constructing additional storm water run-off for better drainage

*Reconstructing sidewalk and wheelchair ramps in the area.

The $3.7 million project was funded through a 2003 voter-approved bond issue.

In addition, work is also ongoing on several major intersections. The project includes traffic signal upgrades and additional turning lanes at these locations:

*Murphy Road at Lexington

*Murphy Road at Cartwright Road

*State Highway 6 at Glenn Lakes

*State Highway 6 at Murphy Road

Work on the two intersections at Murphy Road is under way and should take about two months to complete.

After work at those two intersections is finished, improvements will begin along Highway 6 this summer. The intersections at Highway 6 and Glenn Lakes and Highway 6 and Murphy Road will be improved. Raised medians will then be placed along Highway 6 between those two intersections.

The majority of the project is funded through American Recovery Act stimulus funds.

Taking a further step to promote partnerships with the community, the Missouri City Police Department has initiated a Crime Tip Line and an online program to help residents combat crime.

The new high-tech user-friendly tools can be accessed on the City’s website, www.missouricitytx.gov.  Viewers can click “Tracking Crime” under “Quick Links” to access the crime database, a crime tip form and a house watch program.

“While crimes against persons have gone down, we have seen an increase in crimes against property in the past year,” said Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald.  “Missouri City Police want all of our residents to be educated as to what is happening in our community and help us prevent crime.  When it does occur, we welcome your information to help us bring these assailants to justice.”

The free, crime-mapping national database, called RAIDS Online, allows residents to track all crimes including major or, as they are called, Part I crimes, using applications that group offenses by category and type, location and detailed information charts.  Part I crimes include murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson.  By checking the “Other” box, all other crimes are shown. Citizens can select a date range, click the Map tab and then zoom in on their neighborhood or take a broader view of the City. Clicking on the colored icons on the map brings up specific information on that incident. The Data Grid tab allows viewers to look at a word table and the Analytics tab shows viewers crime in various chart forms by the date range selected. 

The website now includes two new forms for residents.  Viewers can also log on to report offenses through a new crime tip form. Tipsters can remain anonymous while sharing important clues to help the Police Department solve crimes. Another service is the house watch program, which helps police safeguard residents’ homes while they are away on business or vacation. Requests should be submitted 48 hours before departure and the length of absence should be at least three days and fewer than three weeks in duration. Homes are checked once per police shift, or three times per day. Residents can also call the police department at 281-403-8700 to request this service.

Another new innovative weapon in the Police Department’s crime-fighting arsenal is their new tip line-281-403-5868. The Tip Line is monitored by officers in the Criminal Investigation Division and callers can leave their contact information for officers or they can remain anonymous.

“These tools allow residents to use the internet to access forms that will get quick responses from Missouri City Police,” said Fitzgerald. “We want to provide residents with all the best possible ways of getting leads to the Police Department to solve these cases.”

For residents used to viewing the Daily Crime Report from the homepage, that information will continue to be posted each day under “Hot Topics”.