North Richland Hills celebrated the start of the Iron Horse Boulevard reconstruction project with a groundbreaking ceremony at Prestige Ameritech, the nation’s largest medical mask manufacturer and one of North Richland Hills’ major employers. A $4.2 million grant from the
U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is funding most of the project, reducing the local dollars needed to reconstruct the street. This grant was the largest amount awarded by the EDA across the 16-county
North Central Texas region.
Speakers for the groundbreaking included Mayor Oscar Trevino, Mike Eastland, Executive Director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and Jorge Ayala, Regional Director for the EDA. Dan Reese, President of Prestige Ameritech, also shared about the company’s long history on Iron Horse Boulevard and their rise to become the nation’s largest producer of medical masks. You can view their remarks on the city's website at
https://nrhtx.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1069. Others in attendance were members of the NRH City Council, Stacey Webb, North Central Texas and Oklahoma Representative for the EDA, Janie Havel from Office of the Governor - Economic Development, Tarrant County Commissioner Gary Fickes and City staff.
The Iron Horse reconstruction project spans from York Street to Rufe Snow Drive, replacing the current deteriorated asphalt with reinforced concrete pavement. This section of Iron Hose will go from a narrow four-lane (12-feet per lane) road with a center turn lane, to a wider two-lane (16-feet per lane) road with a raised median that has openings and left turn bays at several locations. The project is expected to last approximately 14 months, depending on the weather. The City will also reconstruct Iron Horse between Rufe Snow Drive and Browning Drive starting later this year with funding from the 2020 Street Bond Program.