Beginning in October, motorists may noticed several traffic flow changes in Kingwood as work continues on Northpark Drive.

The latest: Contractor Harper Brothers Construction implemented a traffic shift between Hwy. 59 and Loop 494 so that eastbound traffic will be redirected onto the newly constructed westbound lanes, while westbound traffic will continue to use the existing westbound pavement. Per the website, this traffic shift is expected to remain in place for approximately three months.

What else? Traffic shifts were also implemented at the Kings Mill Park Drive intersection, with construction divided into two phases to maintain two-way access, per the website.

During Phase 1, the east drive closed for three weeks of construction with traffic being routed through the west drive. For Phase 2, the west drive will be closed for construction for three months and all traffic will be routed through the east drive.

Chipotle will open a new location in Humble on Nov. 18, company officials announced in a Nov. 13 news release.

How it works: Per the release, the new location will mark the company's first "Chipotlane" in Humble. The drive thru pick-up lane allows guests to pick up digital orders without leaving their vehicles.

Some context: As previously reported by Community Impact, construction began earlier this year on the new location. The eatery offers build-your-own options for burritos, bowls, salads, tacos and quesadillas.

Check it out: Per the release, the Humble location is currently hiring.

• Opening Nov. 18
• 15906 Woodland Hills Drive, Humble

Harris Health officials will hold public town hall meetings with community members in all four Harris County commissioners' precincts to discuss the proposed land acquisition for the Ben Taub Hospital expansion within Hermann Park.

What you need to know: Harris Health officials are in the process of a major expansion of Ben Taub Hospital, which would incorporate 8.9 acres of Hermann Park.

Digging deeper: The expansion is backed by a $2.5 billion bond package approved by Harris County voters in 2023, which supports Harris Health’s multiyear facilities plan and includes the addition of approximately 100 private patient rooms and expanded surgical capacity through a new patient tower adjacent to Ben Taub Hospital. The current campus couldn’t be expanded due to infrastructure limitations, officials said, and a lack of available space within the hospital’s current footprint.

The event: For Harris County Precinct 3, the town hall meeting will take place Nov. 17 at 6:45 p.m. at the George H. W. Bush Community Center, located at 6827 Cypresswood Drive, Spring.

Houston City Council rejected a request from a company to raise water rates for residents and business owners at its Nov. 12 meeting.

The request, which came from national utilities company Aqua Texas, would have raised around $30 million in additional revenue for the company.

The big picture: Submitted June 20, Aqua Texas’ request asked for a consolidated statewide tariff, which would bring $17.8 million more in water revenue and $11.4 million more in wastewater revenue to the company under the new consolidated system, according to Houston City Council Nov. 12 meeting documents.

The actual rate change for Houston residents would have varied, but it could have impacted 93 residential customers and at least 62 commercial customers within the city’s limits. Across the state, Aqua Texas has about 76,000 water customers and 25,300 wastewater customers.

Stay tuned: Aqua Texas also submitted a request for unincorporated areas to the Public Utility Commission of Texas and will likely appeal the city’s decision to that commission.

Texas’ power grid will likely remain stable in December and January, recent reports from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas show. However, grid conditions could become tight if a winter storm hits large swaths of Texas, driving up demand for electricity.

The overview: ERCOT, which operates the electric grid for 90% of Texas, found in a Nov. 7 report that there should be “sufficient generating capacity available” to serve customers throughout January.

ERCOT forecasts that the tightest period this winter will be from 7-8 a.m. daily, when little to no solar power is being produced. During that time, ERCOT found the chances of a grid emergency are 1.81% in December and 1.4% in January.

More details: If a severe winter storm causes demand on the Texas grid to near record levels, there is a roughly 35% chance of a grid emergency in December and a less than 10% chance in January, ERCOT reported. Texans last experienced a grid emergency in September 2023, and the grid withstood three cold snaps in early 2025.