Car Wars: The Force Awakens (Your Need for Patience)

Enjoy the holidays while you can — for in January, construction affecting Second Street may awaken the Grinch in you. Center Operations is planning a road closure on Second Street, a major artery at Johnson Space Center, beginning Jan. 16. The closure will happen between Buildings 17 and 45 — and work will hopefully be complete, weather permitting, by Feb. 1. 

“We had hoped to do this work during the Christmas holidays, but Santa didn't get us the pipe on time,” said Joel Walker, director of Center Operations.  

Despite the scheduling glitch, Center Operations is working diligently to minimize the stress involved with temporary reroute.  

“This is a critical part of the construction for Building 21 so we can get all the utilities in place,” Walker said. “We plan to do the work as quickly as possible to minimize the impact on our employees. At the same time, we have to make sure we’re working safely.” 

The road repairs are needed to route utilities across the street for the new Human Health and Performance Laboratory currently under construction. On a positive note, construction has been planned to coincide with flex Friday and the Martin Luther King Day holiday to minimize impact to JSC team members. Delta Link will provide a detour around the closed section of Second Street, but it is recommended that drivers avoid the area if at all possible. 

Take a look at the map below to see how you will be affected if you plan to use Second Street from Jan. 16 to Feb. 1 — though, really, you just shouldn’t.

 Trust us.


Map of Second Street construction work and rerouting, which will occur Jan. 16 to Feb. 1, weather permitting.


Catherine Ragin Williams
NASA Johnson Space Center