400 acres of rough grading, detention basin construction, and infrastructure prep for one of the Katy area's largest active master-planned communities.
Sunterra is a 2,000-lot master-planned community developed along the northern Katy prairie, a region with flat topography, expansive clay soils, and significant stormwater management requirements driven by Harris County Flood Control District standards. The civil earthwork scope on Phase 1 covered the full western quarter of the community footprint.
Stone River was brought in to execute rough grading across approximately 400 acres of previously agricultural land, establish primary and secondary detention basin cells to meet HCFCD volumetric requirements, and prepare the subgrade for roadway and utility installation by subsequent trades.
The project ran across two rainy seasons. Schedule adherence required continuous coordination with the project's civil engineer of record and the Harris County permitting office, with three separate revised grading plans incorporated mid-project as lot configurations shifted during the development's pre-sales phase.
The Katy Prairie subsoils are predominantly high-plasticity clay. Working them dry is workable. Working them wet turns a grading operation into a mud management problem. Two back-to-back wet springs required continuous moisture conditioning, strategic sequencing of work fronts, and an equipment fleet large enough to stay productive on dry areas while wet areas stabilized.
The developer adjusted lot configurations twice during the pre-sales period and once in response to a HCFCD detention volume comment. Each revision cascaded into the grading design. Stone River absorbed two of the three revisions without a change order by identifying the conflicts early and sequencing work to avoid regrading previously finished areas.
Harris County Flood Control District requires inspection sign-off at specific construction milestones before detention work can proceed. Managing the inspection scheduling alongside active grading operations, without stacking idle crew time at hold points, required tight daily coordination between Stone River's field superintendent and the project's civil engineer.
Phase 1 earthwork was completed within the contracted schedule window despite the mid-project plan revisions and two consecutive wet spring seasons. All detention basin grades were accepted by HCFCD on first inspection submission. The Phase 1 subgrade was turned over to the roadway contractor with zero rework orders from the civil engineer.
The developer contracted Stone River for Phase 2 grading before Phase 1 closeout documentation was finalized.
Full-scope site preparation for a 14-acre industrial facility along the Grand Parkway corridor in west Houston. Scope included mass excavation, cut-and-fill earthwork, GPS-controlled finish grading, and stormwater detention integration. Delivered on schedule for general contractor handoff.
Heavy land clearing across 22 acres of mixed brush, timber, and stumps for an industrial pad site. Site cleared, debris removed, and rough grade established for GC mobilization.
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