Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Sheldon community members will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate completion of the Van Hut Lane bridge that nearby residents asked Precinct One to build to improve mobility and pedestrian safety. The $1.6 million, two-lane bridge with sidewalks was built over a flood control tributary of Greens Bayou that divides the neighborhood. It now connects people to Sheldon ISD schools, recreational opportunities and businesses in the neighborhood.

Slated to attend the event on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, 1 p.m. at Van Hutt Lane at Gaspar Oaks Dr. is Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Donna Beveridge, President, Stonefield Terrace Community Association, Leo Obakozuwa, Vice President, Hidden Meadow HOA, and Traci Dillard, Director of Resource Development, East Harris County Empowerment.

Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis will join Sheldon community members in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 29 to celebrate completion of a $1.6 million, two-lane bridge that residents requested to improve mobility and safety.

“The Van Hut bridge represents what’s best about democracy,” Commissioner Ellis said. “A group of citizens like Ms. Donna Beveridge and all the incredible board members of the Stonefield Terrace Community Association saw a problem in their community, visualized a solution, and lobbied their elected officials to make it a reality. That’s American democracy at its finest.”

In response to community concerns about speeding vehicles and increased school bus traffic after C.E. King High School opened in 2020, Precinct One invested funds to build the bridge over a Greens Bayou tributary that divided the neighborhood. The bridge, which opened to traffic in mid-June, includes 6-foot-wide sidewalks on both sides to allow pedestrians and bikers to cross safely. It expands access to the 1.1-mile Resilience Trail just south of the tributary.

In addition, the bridge connects people to Sheldon ISD schools, recreational opportunities and neighborhood businesses. It also gives commuters a new north-south artery through the neighborhood.

“For too long in this county you had to live in the right ZIP code to get infrastructure like this,” Commissioner Ellis said. “But this bridge sits in Sheldon, one of the most diverse communities in Harris County. That’s because the community stood up and demanded this.”