- UTRGV Recognized By ED As Among Schools ‘Doing The Most To Lift Students Up’
- Halloween is a Tradition That Dates Back Many Years
- Esteban Cabrera – December 26, 1945 – October 11, 2024
- Ready for District
- Harlingen Opens First Pump Track in South Texas
- ACE Flag Football
- La Feria ISD Hires Chief of Police for District
- Three Ways To Protect Migratory Birds This Fall
- Goodwill and the RGV Vipers Team Up for a Skills Camp
- Santa Rosa ISD Offers Law Enforcement Cadet Program
La Feria Breaks Ground on Domes
- Updated: August 29, 2014
Multi-Million dollar project gets underway
The City of La Feria held a Ground Breaking Ceremony for the La Feria Safe Rooms (Domes) on Friday, August 15. Two of the nine hurricane shelters to be built in the Valley will be in La Feria.
The dome shelter to be built at 1700 S. Main Street will accommodate 850 people while the proposed dome shelter at 1001 Pancho Maples is projected to house an additional 600 people during a storm.
Officials turn the first dirt to begin construction of the Safe Domes
To begin construction, a round concrete foundation will be poured and reinforced with steel rebar. Walls will be built up from the foundation and an airform – a fabric balloon – will form the roof. Attached to the foundation and base structure, it will be inflated. Polyurethane foam will then be applied to the airform as a base, and steel reinforcement attached to hold its structure. Finally, a strong spray-on concrete will be applied to the dome’s surfaces.
Funding for the proposed domes was originally awarded to the City of La Feria in September 2012 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the Texas Department of Emergency Management, a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety. FEMA will cover 75% of the cost to build the shelters, with the city making up the other 25% of costs incurred.
The city expressed excitement about the proposed project, describing the domes as “an amazing opportunity” for the City of La Feria. Secondary use for the facility on Main St. will be a technology center, while the Pancho Maples shelter will function as a wellness center to compliment the recreational center next door to it.
