Freeways and Toll Roads

Environmental, Freeways and Toll Roads, Houston Data, Public Health, Quicklink

8 Comments

STUDYING HOUSTON’S ROADSIDE AIR QUALITY Another source of Houston’s pollution has got the attention of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: tailpipes. Starting in January, the agency will place a pair of monitors within 160 ft. of 2 our most heavily used roads — including the Southwest Fwy. near the Westpark Tollway — to record the amount of nitrogen dioxide leaked into the air. Apparently, the stuff can beÂ pretty nasty, writes the Houston Chronicle’s Matthew Tresaugue: “The Environmental Protection Agency said studies have measured concentrations of the gas to be as much as 100 times greater near major roadways than away from them. Scientists, meanwhile, have linked the pollutant to asthma and other lung ailments, especially among children and the elderly.” The results of these monitors, adds Tresaugue, might lead the city to make decisions about preventing schools and residences from being built in and around affected areas. [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot] Photo: AA Roads

Air Pollution, Air Quality, Freeways, Houston Data, Public Health

07/15/13 1:15pm

Comment of the Day: Visions of a Freeway Lined with Office Buildings

Energy Corridor, Freeways and Toll Roads, Landscape, Quicklink

5 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: VISIONS OF A FREEWAY LINED WITH OFFICE BUILDINGS “I live in the area and I think itâ€™s a big improvement on a used car lot. I would love to see the remaining car dealerships gradually moved away and a continuous strip of mid/high rises from Memorial City to Hwy 6. Now that would be a true ‘Energy Corridor.’â€ [outwest, commenting on A New 17-Story Office Tower Just Like the Others in the Energy Corridor] Illustration: Lulu

Comments, Energy-Corridor, Freeways, I-10, Landscape

06/19/13 11:00am

What Houston’s New Phillips 66 Global HQ Might Look Like

Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Westchase

5 Comments

This rendering appears to show the newÂ Phillips 66 global headquarters planned to go up in Westchase. Back in September, the ConocoPhillips offshoot announced it would be building something on the Beltway 8 feeder next to a pair of hotels just north of Westheimer. The announcement went on to say that the 14.2-acre site bound by City West Blvd., Private Dr., and Cityplace Dr. will have a training and development center, conference space, credit union, gym, cafeteria, coffee shop, and convenience store.

Phillips 66 selects property for future headquarters campus [Phillips 66]
Previously on Swamplot: Phillips 66 Will Build Its New Global HQ Along Tollway Feeder Road, Where Phillips 66 Will Hang Out for a Few Years in Westchase, Phillips 66 Will Build a New Headquarters in Houston

Rendering: Swamplot inbox

77042, Freeways and Toll Roads, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Westchase

Eminent Domain

06/12/13 12:05pm

TxDOT Says No Mor Chicken, Need Mor Road

Freeways and Toll Roads, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Transportation, Webster

11 Comments

The 11-year run is coming to an end: According to a letter signed by franchise operator Charles Gibson and posted in the store’s window, June 14 will be the last day for this Webster Chick-Fil-A. The letter explains that TxDOT has purchased the property with plans to expand I-45. Across that freeway from the Baybrook Mall, this Chick-Fil-A is the northernmost chain of that cluster of â€™em accessible via the feeder from Bay Area Blvd.

Welcome! [Chik-fil-A Restaurant Bay Area Blvd.]
TxDOT stories [Swamplot]

Photo: Panoramio user MrQuick

77598, Eminent Domain, Franchises and Chain Stores, Freeways, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, TXDOT, Webster

05/06/13 2:00pm

Comment of the Day: Outside of the Loop on Traffic

Freeways and Toll Roads, Quicklink, Traffic

14 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: OUTSIDE OF THE LOOP ON TRAFFIC “Nothing confuses a non-Houstonian like traffic reports in H-town: ‘Thereâ€™s an accident on the east loop north at 225, traffic is backed all the way from the south loop east to the west loop south.’â€ [HEYZEUS, commenting on Comment of the Day: Isn’t East of 59 and 288 Inside the Loop Too?]

Comments, Freeways, Traffic

04/25/13 11:00am

How To Ease the 59 Northbound Bottleneck Between Shepherd and the Spur

Traffic

28 Comments

The Problem: “As traffic backs up on 59 past the Spur, drivers are faced with a dilemma. Do I sit and queue here in the right three lanes, which arenâ€™t moving? Or do I get over and zoom past until right before the split? Many, understandably, choose the latter. But what this does is create a new bottleneck at the point where the Spur diverges, because traffic is merging into the left lane and then trying to cross over to get to 288 or stay on 59.” The (Not So Obvious) Solution: “Add a couple miles of barrier and put the split (‘gore point’ in traffic engineer speak) at Shepherd. If youâ€™ve driven this route once, you can see how it would immediately shave several minutes off the trip to Downtown/Midtown/Montrose. The Spur is never jammed in the reverse direction, so anything that effectively lengthens the Spur lengthens the distance of hassle-free 60mph cruising. But such a configuration would also help drivers continuing on 59.”

The Spur needs to split at Shepherd [Keep Houston Houston]

Photo: Flickr user jfre81 [license]

77098, Freeways, Midtown, Montrose, Traffic

01/11/13 6:29pm

Comment of the Day: A Big Dig for East Downtown

Downtown, East Downtown, Freeways and Toll Roads, Quicklink

54 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: A BIG DIG FOR EAST DOWNTOWN “What needs to happen to connect Downtown with the East End/EaDo is TxDOT needs to put 59 in a tunnel from just south of 45 up to Commerce Street. Above ground create a mile long linear park. Instead of the elevated freeway discouraging pedestrian activity, a underground freeway below with a fantastic linear park above would draw in visitors in hordes. Who wouldnâ€™t want to be around or live near a mile long urban park jewel? The value added is enough in itself to justify such a project for the betterment of the city.” [Thomas, commenting on Adding to Convention Center District Easy as 1-2-3 . . . 4-5-6-7]

77003, 77010, Comments, Downtown, East Downtown, Freeways

01/04/13 10:28am

The Grand Parkway Ancient Burial Site, Up Close and Personal

Freeways and Toll Roads, Grand Parkway, TXDOT

Geology, Houston History, Land Development, New Constructon

5 Comments

Last month, Cite magazine editor Raj Mankad hiked 8 miles through the Katy Prairie to see the prehistoric human remains found during the construction of Grand Parkway’s Segment E for himself. He brought back a few photos and an essayist’s-eye-view of the archaeological saga:

It appeared as if TxDOT had aimed the 15-mile-long highway segment directly at the burial ground. The highway was suspended, figuratively and physically, like an unintentional monument honoring the burial grounds, like Texas was trying to tell anyone in an airplane or spaceship to LOOK HERE. . . . What I saw were several pieces of plywood, propped up on five-gallon paint buckets, covering what I presume to be the human remains and the tools, buffalo teeth, and other objects found with them. The plywood was weighted down with rocks. . . . To my amateur eyes, the excavation looked makeshift and tenuous, not systematic or professional.

Photos: Brett Sillers

12/05/12 1:44pm

Comment of the Day: Also, Paving Over Their Ancestors

Construction Problems, Freeways and Toll Roads, Houston History, Quicklink

3 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: ALSO, PAVING OVER THEIR ANCESTORS “Yes we do know what people were doing 10,000 years ago. Basically itâ€™s the same thing we are doing today. Making and raising children, trying to feed our family, and working to have safety, shelter, and clothing.” [Bill, commenting on Grand Parkway Will Pile on the Dead]

77433, Comments, Construction Problems, Freeways and Toll Roads, Grand Parkway, Houston History, Katy Prairie

Construction Problems

12/04/12 2:02pm

Grand Parkway Will Pile on the Dead

Freeways and Toll Roads, Houston History, Quicklink

16 Comments

GRAND PARKWAY WILL PILE ON THE DEAD An agreement between TxDOT, the Harris County Historical Commission, and 5 Native American tribes over what to do with the prehistoric human remains unearthed in the prairie highway’s path will allow construction of the Grand Parkway Segment E to continue — with only a bump in the road: “Under the agreement, TxDOT will fill the excavated areas and cover them with rip rap, creating a permanent burial site near where the road would cross Cypress Creek, about three miles south of U.S. 290.” The reburial might confuse future anthropologists, though: “[UH professor of anthropology Kenneth] BrownÂ expressed frustration over TxDOT’s handling of the site, saying crews saved some artifacts but ruined the area for richer study. The agency’s crews scraped and sifted mechanically instead of digging by hand. ‘When you scrape, you will find things, but you won’t be able to see how they were associated,’ Brown said. ‘That is a shame because we do not know what people were doing 10,000 to 14,000 years ago, and we won’t know now.'” [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo of gravesite: abc13

77433, Construction Problems, Freeways and Toll Roads, Grand Parkway, Houston History, Katy Prairie

10/29/12 5:32pm

Comment of the Day: Houston Drew Me to the Sea

Freeways and Toll Roads, Montrose, Quicklink

1 Comment

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOUSTON DREW ME TO THE SEA “When I lived near the Spur, the traffic sounded like ocean breakers and lulled me to sleep at night. Now I live on the coast and the breakers remind me of 59, but with a better view.” [miss_msry, commenting on Comment of the Day: A Difference in Freeway Sound Quality]

77098, Comments, Freeways, Montrose, Sound

10/26/12 2:15pm

Comment of the Day: A Difference in Freeway Sound Quality

Freeways and Toll Roads, Quicklink, Traffic

7 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: A DIFFERENCE IN FREEWAY SOUND QUALITY “I used to live upstairs in a 4 plex on the other side of the Spur on 59. I never found the freeway noise bothersome even though I could practically see the whites of the drivers’ eyes from my bedroom window. It was a constant whooshing that I just pretended was the sound of the ocean . On the other hand I later lived blocks and blocks away from I-10 but the sound of 18 wheelers shifting gears used to annoy me when I was trying to sleep. It depends more on the traffic patterns than distance.” [Tangyjoe, commenting on Porch-Sitting on the Edge in Woodland Heights]

Comments, Freeways, Sound, Traffic

10/01/12 5:14pm

Comment of the Day: The Ring Road Name Inflation Challenge

Freeways and Toll Roads, Quicklink

18 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE RING ROAD NAME INFLATION CHALLENGE “Only problem is that with a huge name like Grand Parkway, what will we call the next, even bigger loop?” [Frank, commenting on Three More Links in the Grand Parkway Are Now Ready To Roll]

Comments, Freeways and Toll Roads, Grand Parkway, Names

09/28/12 11:05am

Three More Links in the Grand Parkway Are Now Ready To Roll