Tag: Freeways and Toll Roads

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

Freeways and Toll Roads, Hazards, Houston History, Katy Prairie, Quicklink

15 Comments

OLD DEAD PEOPLE BLOCKING PROGRESS OF GRAND PARKWAY Texas’s department of transportation is requesting permission to remove 4 bone fragments found buried in the Katy Prairie — in the path of what will eventually be the largest-circumference ring road ever constructed around a U.S. city. The bones, believed to represent the remains of several people, are at least 2,000 years old, which would make them older than any human body parts previously discovered in the Harris County area. They were unearthed by construction workers. As a result, construction of a portion of Segment E of the Grand Parkway, which will connect I-10 to U.S. Hwy. 290 through acres of uninhabited grasslands, has been halted. TxDOT’s application asks for “expedited removal” of the remains so that work can continue. [abc13; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Deeya Maple

12/19/11 11:00pm

Comment of the Day: Yes, a Ring Road Even Further Out Than the Grand Parkway

Freeways and Toll Roads, Master-Planned Communities, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Sprawl

12 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: YES, A RING ROAD EVEN FURTHER OUT THAN THE GRAND PARKWAY “I hate to be the one to break the news, but the next outer loop beyond Grand Parkway is already being planned. If you look at the land plan for Cross Creek Ranch, thereâ€™s a big right of way built into the western portion of the development. It is right close to the proposed terminus of the Westpark Toll Road and roughly aligns with FM 2855 to the north and Spur 10 to the south. Some of the economic development corporations and chambers of commerce out there have even begun tracing its route on their planning maps.” [TheNiche, commenting on The Swamplot Award for Special Achievement in Sprawl: The Official 2011 Ballot]

Comments, Freeways and Toll Roads, Fulshear, Master-Planned Communities, Proposed Developments, Sprawl

12/01/11 10:30pm

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Houston Freeways — for Free

Books, Freeways and Toll Roads

Quicklink

5 Comments

EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT HOUSTON FREEWAYS — FOR FREE A reader writes in to make sure we were aware that the world’s best book on the popular topic of Houston-area freeways — which just happens to be entitled Houston Freeways — is available as a free PDF ebook download on the author’s website (yes, HoustonFreeways.com). Sharpstown native Erik Slotboom’s freeway-photo-filled 416-page opus has been out of print since 2005, though dedicated freeway fans can still scrounge up an only mildly battered physical copy for upwards of $100 on Amazon and other sites. Online only: Slotboom’s 5-year photo update of all the Houston Freeway happenings that took place between 2003 and 2008.

Development Strategies

11/11/11 2:44pm

The Man Who Resurrected the Grand Parkway

Freeways and Toll Roads, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Sprawl

16 Comments

THE MAN WHO RESURRECTED THE GRAND PARKWAY As recently as the beginning of this year, 2 northwestern segments of the proposed fourth ring road around Houston were considered by many to be stalled projects — remnants, even, of an outdated dream to project sprawling, suburban-style development ever outward from the city. But by September, construction on the 15.2-mile Katy Prairie paving program known as Segment E of the Grand Parkway had magically begun; further north, Grand Parkway’s Segment F — the portion that would connect ExxonMobil’s proposed campus in Spring to western suburbs — now appears inevitable. How’d that happen? Reporter Angie Schmitt looks at the role of developer and TxDOT commissioner Ned Holmes in the startling turnaround, including the former banking executive’s remarkable ability to dig up a previously unnoticed $350 million deep in the books of the otherwise cash-starved state agency he oversees — in order to make the Grand Parkway happen. [StreetsBlog; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Rte. 99 ramp construction: Covering Katy

Development Strategies, Freeways and Toll Roads, Grand Parkway, Proposed Developments, Sprawl, TXDOT

08/29/11 6:28pm

Fort Bend Parkway Will Grow South, Stay Away from the Loop

Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Sienna Plantation

4 Comments

FORT BEND PARKWAY WILL GROW SOUTH, STAY AWAY FROM THE LOOP The Fort Bend County Toll Road Association plans to start construction of a $20 million, 2.3-mile southern extension of the Fort Bend Parkway from Hwy. 6 to the Sienna Parkway later this year. (The Hwy. 6 underpass will cost an additional $20 million). Plans to to build a 3-mile-long northern extension the Fort Bend Parkway — from Rte. 90A through Westbury, so it connects to the southwest corner of the 610 Loop — have been on the books for more than a decade, but Harris County officials aren’t interested in building it. [Houston Chronicle] Map: HCTRA

77459, Fort Bend County, Freeways and Toll Roads, Harris County Government, Proposed Developments, Sienna-Plantation, Westbury

Chinatown

08/01/11 4:18pm

The 5 Places in Houston Where You’re Most Likely To Run Into Pedestrians

Downtown, Freeways and Toll Roads, Galleria, Hazards, Quicklink, Traffic, Transportation

14 Comments

THE 5 PLACES IN HOUSTON WHERE YOU’RE MOST LIKELY TO RUN INTO PEDESTRIANS The intersections of Milam and Dallas, Milam and Prairie, and San Jacinto and Congress St. Downtown; Westheimer and McCue near the Galleria; and Bellaire and Corporate Dr. just inside Beltway 8 in Asiatown rank as the top locations for auto-pedestrian accidents, according to a Chronicle review of city records. A grand total of 2,204 collisions involving cars and people traveling on foot have taken place in Houston since 2008, resulting in a total of 174 pedestrian deaths. The deaths were concentrated differently, “along the U.S. Highway 59 corridor near West Park and along Interstate 45 North and I-10 East,” with 43 percent of them taking place on freeways or major highways. [Houston Chronicle]

Asiatown, Chinatown, Downtown, Freeways and Toll Roads, Galleria, Hazards, Pedestrians, Traffic

06/13/11 9:46am

Full Speed Ahead on the Grand Parkway, with ExxonMobil at 12 O’Clock

Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Spring, Springwoods Village, Transportation

7 Comments

FULL SPEED AHEAD ON THE GRAND PARKWAY, WITH EXXONMOBIL AT 12 O’CLOCK A 12.1-mile segment of Houston’s newest and largest ring road, connecting the new ExxonMobil campus to the Tomball Parkway — and eventually to Katy — should be open by 2015, says the executive director of the Grand Parkway Association. TxDOT should start acquiring rights of way along Segment F-2 between Hwy. 249 and I-45 later this year, and construction will likely begin within 2 years, David Gornet tells Nancy Sarnoff. [Houston Chronicle; more info]

77389, Development Strategies, ExxonMobil, Freeways and Toll Roads, Grand Parkway, New Construction, Office Parks, Proposed Developments, Spring, Springwoods Village, Transportation

03/11/11 2:39pm

Comment of the Day: There’s a Little Bit of Houston on Every Beach

Freeways and Toll Roads, Quicklink, Sound

6 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THERE’S A LITTLE BIT OF HOUSTON ON EVERY BEACH “. . . from my house on Padre, the surf sounds just like the SW Fwy, only BETTER.” [miss_msry, commenting on Comment of the Day: Thatâ€™s What the Surf Sounds Like in Houston]

Comments, Freeways and Toll Roads, Sound

01/20/11 4:46pm

Comment of the Day: Cultural Exchange

Freeways and Toll Roads, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Quicklink

2 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: CULTURAL EXCHANGE “If itâ€™s any consolation, if thereâ€™s a scale model of the Astrodome outside of Beijing, itâ€™ll probably get paved over eventually, too.” [tinyvoices, commenting on Out of the Way, Tiny Soldiers, Here Comes the Grand Parkway: Katyâ€™s Forbidden Gardens Is Closing Down]

Astrodome, Comments, Freeways and Toll Roads, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments

12/14/09 11:46am

On Top of Spaghetti: Video Preview of a New and Better Tangle at 290 and Beltway 8

Jersey Village, Online Resources, Proposed Developments, Transportation

10 Comments

Thanks to the reader who passed along this flyover video showing what a fat, happy, and rebuilt Highway 290 will look like as it wraps its newly grown tentacles around Beltway 8. The video comes from TxDOT’s fancy new my290.com website, which attempts to bring to the planned multi-billion-dollar highway widening program the feel-good vibe of a community barnraising. When construction begins in 2011, will we be able to follow the construction workers as they tweet?

The site features current maps and details of the plans for US 290 and the Hempstead Tollway. Notes the reader: “Looks like the NW mall is history, well, at least most of the parking lot.” Here’s a view:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Freeways and Toll Roads, Jersey Village, Northwest Mall, Online Resources, Proposed Developments, Transportation, TXDOT, Videos

Buying and Selling

11/25/09 9:25am

Why Houston Needs More Ring Roads

Commercial Real Estate, Freeways and Toll Roads, Office Buildings, Westchase

No Comments

H. Dan Miller, senior managing director of the Houston office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, commenting on the sale he recently brokered of the fully leased 30,000-sq.-ft. office building and bank drive-thru on an L-shaped property at 10411 Westheimer in Westchase, which received 18 offers within a week:

You had an irreplaceable location at the corner of Westheimer and Beltway 8 and three streets of frontage. I wish I had 10 of these types of buildings.

30,000-SF Office Attracts 18 Offers [Globe St.]
10411 Westheimer Executive Summary (PDF) [Holliday Fenoglio Fowler]

Photo: Holliday Fenoglio Fowler

77042, Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Freeways and Toll Roads, Office Buildings, Sprawl, Westchase

10/28/09 11:16am

Latest Entry in the International Houston Bicycle Video Competition

Transportation

2 Comments

Video: Aubin Malassagne; music: Le Comte de Fourques

Bicycles, Freeways and Toll Roads, Transportation, Videos

10/27/09 6:17pm

Comment of the Day: The Phantom Tollbooths of I-10

Fraud, Freeways and Toll Roads, Quicklink

2 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTHS OF I-10 “Ahe yes, the technology of the HOT lane. I had the opportunity to reverse communte I10 last week all week and every day I was the only car to correctly stay in the toll lane as I went past the toll gate rather than seamlessly merging into the high occupancy lane [and then] merging back out after skipping the toll. It looked like a peloton of single occupant cars as we sped along. Do they actuially intend to enforce the high occupancy part of this system somehow at some point[?]” [Jimbo, commenting on Paying Tolls on I-45, 290, and 59]

Comments, Fraud, Freeways and Toll Roads, HOV Lanes

10/26/09 3:16pm

Paying Tolls on I-45, 290, and 59