Houston Energy Corridor

The Energy Corridor is a busy business area in Houston, Texas. It is on the west side of the city, between Beltway 8 and the Grand Parkway. This district stretches along a 7-mile part of Interstate 10 (the Katy Freeway), from Kirkwood Road to Barker Cypress Road. It also goes south along Eldridge Parkway to Briar Forest Drive. Some parts of this area are in the Memorial part of Houston. It is north of another business area called Westchase and east of Greater Katy.

Many large energy companies have their main offices in the Energy Corridor. Some of these companies are BP America, Citgo, ConocoPhillips, Nouryon, and Shell USA. Other companies there include Sysco and Gulf States Toyota Distributors. The Energy Corridor has a lot of office space and provides many jobs.

There are also many parks and green spaces around the Energy Corridor. These include George Bush Park and Bear Creek Pioneers Park. The parks are near Barker Reservoir and Addicks Reservoir. These reservoirs help control flooding along Buffalo Bayou.

History

Energy companies began moving to west Houston in the 1970s. They needed space for large office buildings close to new homes.

In 2001, Texas created the Energy Corridor Management District. This special area helped improve roads, plant trees, and keep things safe and nice. Even when oil prices were low, new hospitals were built. These included Texas Children's Hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital, and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

In 2017, heavy rains from Hurricane Harvey caused big floods in the area, especially near Eldridge Parkway.

Economy

The Energy Corridor is one of Houston's strongest places for jobs and businesses.

The area has more than 94,000 workers and over 300 companies.

The Energy Corridor has important offices for these companies:

• Becks Prime

• BP America at Westlake Park

• ConocoPhillips

• Citgo

• Equinor

• Foster Wheeler

• Gulf States Toyota

• McDermott International

• PCL Construction

• SBM Offshore USA

• Sysco

• Technip USA

• Wood Group

• WorleyParsons

• Kiewit Corporation

• Enbridge Energy US [Relocated US office in July 2022]

Shell Oil Company, a big employer in the Energy Corridor, has a large office there. Dow Chemical Company and Sonangol USA also have offices in the area.

Transportation

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas helps people get around the area with buses. Line 75, called the Energy Corridor Connector, runs on weekdays. People from Downtown Houston and Midtown Houston can take buses 228 Addicks or 229 Kingsland/Addicks to connect to Line 75. This line also links up with buses on Westheimer Road and Memorial Drive. In January 2011, the line was renamed 75 Eldridge Crosstown, and its endpoint was moved to Mission Bend Park and Ride. This makes it easier to visit the Westchase district and the New Chinatown area.

Two smaller airports serve the Energy Corridor: West Houston Airport near Addicks Reservoir, and Houston Executive Airport in unincorporated Waller County. The latter was created to help workers from companies in the Energy Corridor travel more easily. Most workers in the district live in northern Fort Bend County, western Harris County, and southern Waller County.

Education

Public schools

The Energy Corridor has different school districts. In the south, students go to schools in the Houston Independent School District. In the west, students attend schools in the Katy Independent School District. And in the east, students are part of the Spring Branch Independent School District.

Private schools

There is a private school called The Village School near the Energy Corridor. In 2016, the British International School of Houston opened in Greater Katy to serve families living there.

Public libraries

The Houston Public Library runs the Kendall Neighborhood Library on Eldridge Parkway. This library was damaged during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, but it was repaired and reopened later.

Parks and recreation

The Energy Corridor has a lovely park called Terry Hershey Park. It is a green space that runs along Buffalo Bayou from Beltway 8 to Barker Reservoir. You can start walking trails at the corners of Eldridge and Enclave and near Mayde Creek under Interstate 10. These trails connect to another big park called George Bush Park farther to the southwest.

At the south end of the Energy Corridor, along Eldridge Parkway, there is a smaller neighborhood park named Ray Miller Park. In 2015, a fun children's cricket club called Energy Corridor Cricket began there.