East End Line | Swamplot

09/15/14 12:00pm

The Latest Designs for Metro’s Big Harrisburg Blvd. Overpass in the East End

Proposed Developments, Public Transportation, Transportation

Designs for Overpass on Harrisburg Blvd., East End, Houston

Metro has posted the latest designs for the enormous Hughes St. overpass along Harrisburg Blvd. on the far-east segment of the East End rail line. The $27-to-$42-million bridge is meant to carry cars and Green Line passengers over the Union Pacific East Belt freight rail lineÂ that runs north-south just west of Hughes St., between the soon-to-open East End line’s between the future Altic and Cesar Chavez stations. The posted design concepts, Metro notes, combine a “garden” wall and a wall noting a few 4-digit numbers important in the history of the neighborhood with a ribbon of white LED lighting above and blue accent lighting underneath and along the columns:

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At the End of the Green Line

77011, East End, East End Line, Light-Rail, Metro, Metro Rail, Proposed Developments

Downtown

08/01/14 3:00pm

Trains Are Now Running East-West Downtown, But It’s Only a Test

by Swamplot

Public Transportation

20 Comments

Metro Light Rail Train on Capitol St., Downtown Houston No, no one’s expecting Metro’s 2 new light-rail lines to open any sooner than late December (as Swamplot reported last week), but some progress toward that goal is now visible on portions of the East End and Southeast lines: “Live wire” or powered testing of the downtown tracks began this week. The photo at right, sent in by a reader, shows a Metro train moving unescorted along the tracks on Capitol St. for the first time.

Southeast and East End Line coverage [Swamplot]

Photo: Nathan Juett

Power Up

Downtown, East End Line, Light-Rail, Metro Rail, Public Transportation, Southeast Line

Cancellations and Delays

07/21/14 1:30pm

The Openings of Houston’s 2 New Light Rail Lines Have Been Pushed Back to Late December

by Swamplot

Openings and Closings, Transportation

19 Comments

Light Rail Station at Palm Transit Center, Houston

There’s still “some uncertainty” over the exact schedule, but all the pieces needed to allow Metro to open Houston’s second and third light-rail lines won’t be in place until late December, according to reports delivered to a committee of the transportation organization’s board of directors last Friday. Previously, an opening date sometime this fall had been projected for the Southeast and East End linesÂ (though the far eastern end of the East End line won’t come on line until a newly planned overpass is built ~~under~~Â over the Union Pacific East Belt freight rail line between the future Altic and Cesar Chavez stations). Delays in the delivery of trains aren’t the sole reason for the late openings, however.

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Waiting for the Trains

Cancellations and Delays, East End Line, Light-Rail, Metro, Metro Rail, Openings and Closings, Public Transportation, Southeast Line

Downtown

02/19/14 10:45am

What’s the Point of Metro’s New Buffalo Bayou Bridge Under I-45?

by Swamplot

Public Transportation

15 Comments

Metro Bridge over Buffalo Bayou, West Downtown, Houston

A reader who’s been watching construction of the new bridge that’s gone up over Buffalo Bayou and fitted neatly under I-45 at the far western end of the new under-construction Southeast and East End light-rail lines wonders what its purpose is. The bridge is beyond the planned Theater District stations, the last shared rail stops for the 2 lines. Is it a bridge to nowhere, or the starting point for some later western expansion along Washington Ave?

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Heading West from Downtown

77002, Bridges, Downtown, East End Line, Light-Rail, Metro, Southeast Line

Where Metro’s Been Ripping Up a Stretch of New Light Rail Track Downtown

by Swamplot

Public Transportation

9 Comments

Repair Work on East End and Southeast Rail Line on Capitol St. Near LaBranch, Downtown Houston

As noted in this morning’s Headlines post, yesterday Metro toted around some trains for “clearance testing” on the eastern stretches of the East End and Southeast rail lines scheduled to open later this year, in advance of electricity being brought down the lines. But downtown, repair continues on a 200-ft. stretch of track shared by the 2 lines on Capitol St. between LaBranch and Crawford — where the rails “probably shifted during concrete placement” and therefore didn’t set properly, a spokesperson for the transit agency tells Swamplot. The concrete has been torn up so the stretch can be rebuilt, level. The rework is being paid for at no cost to Metro by the contractor, Houston Rapid Transit, and will not cause any delay in opening the lines, the spokesperson says.

East End Line and Southeast Line coverage [Swamplot]

Photo: Swamplot inbox

Get This Straight

East End Line, Light-Rail, Metro, Repairs, Southeast Line

East End

01/17/14 5:15pm

This Weekend, the Rowhouses of Lubbock Grove Are Moving to Lubbock Grove

by Swamplot

Historic Preservation, Redevelopment, Second Ward

6 Comments

Lubbock Grove Homes, St. Charles and Garrow Sts., Second Ward, Houston

Got big plans for Saturday night? These 6 Victorian-era Second Ward rowhouses will be parading down 8 blocks of Garrow St. past Settegast Park east of Downtown to new spots further east, in time to escape the construction of some impending townhomes on their longtime lots. The move was originally scheduled for early last week, but was postponed because of a damaged utility pole discovered along the route. (It was also kinda cold.)

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Fire Station Friends

77003, East End, East End Line, Historic Preservation, Housemoving, Houston Architects, Houston History, Lubbock Grove, Redevelopment, Rowhouses, Second Ward

East End

10/17/13 10:05am

The East End Line Underpass Metro Hasn’t Begun Building

by Allyn West

Proposed Developments, Public Transportation, Streets

31 Comments

That no-tracks land along Harrisburg Blvd. between 66th and Cowling on the East End Line is supposed to look something like the underpass that these new renderings depict. Right now, though, Harrisburg isn’t passing under anything — but lying in wait instead between the nearly completed eastern and western sections of the line that stop here dead in their tracks. Though Mayor Parker announced more than 2 years ago that the East End Line would get $20.6 million in diverted funds to build theÂ Hughes Underpass below the Union Pacific East Belt freight rail line, construction hasn’t started. Why? Well, it appears that Metro hasn’t selected a company yet.

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77011, East End, East End Line, Light-Rail, Metro, Proposed Developments, Public Transportation, Streets

East End

10/14/13 11:00am

So Long, Harrisburg Sonic

by Allyn West

Franchises and Chain Stores, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

8 Comments

We hardly knew ye: The Sonic Drive-In at 7001 Harrisburg and 70th has quietly closed and covered its windows with solemn gray-painted plywood. The place had been situated among other chains and franchises and bus terminals near the recently installed big yellow bumper at the end of the forthcoming East End Line, catty-corner from the Magnolia Transit Center and a few blocks north of the Gus Wortham Golf Course (and perhaps the potential future Botanic Garden).

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77011, East End, East End Line, Franchises and Chain Stores, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

East End

10/03/12 3:28pm

Where’s That “YEEEE-HAWWW” Now? Thunderbolt Puts on its Harrisburg Rail Face

by Swamplot

Parking, Public Transportation, Retail, Streetscapes

3 Comments

It was inevitable that construction of the new East End Line would change the face of Thunderbolt Motors & Transmissions. No more head-in parking out front means customers may have a hard time replicating the closing image of the business’s (locally) famous teevee commercial, 2 versions of which feature a blonde urban-cowgirl type in a Caddy convertible waving her hat in the air as she pulls her (presumably backed-in) convertible onto Harrisburg from one of those spaces.

The 1977 original is shown above. In the commercial’s more recent remake, the head-in parking at 6847 Harrisburg is easier to make out:

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77011, East End, East End Line, Light-Rail, Parking, Retail, Streetscapes, TV-Commercials

East End

10/01/12 9:34am

Power to the Pedestrians: Sidewalk Utility Poles of the East End Line

by Swamplot

Public Transportation, Utilities

64 Comments

Courtesy of a reader wielding a camera along Harrisburg Blvd., here’s a tour of a few standout elements you can expect to encounter in a stroll along the path of Houston’s new East End light-rail line, now that sidewalk coordination work between CenterPoint Energy, Metro, and the Greater East End Management District has been completed.

“Most of the poles,” the reader reports, “are now in the center of the sidewalk leaving 24 inches to squeeze by on either side.” Or maybe a bit more:

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77003, 77011, 77012, Construction Problems, East End, East End Line, Eastwood, Metro Rail, New Construction, Streetscapes, Utilities

Public Transportation

08/28/12 11:22am

Driving Tour Progress Reports: How Far All That Light Rail Construction Has Come

by Swamplot

24 Comments

How far along is construction on the 3 rail lines Metro is building? A little more than a year ago, HAIF user ricco67 took a video camera along on drives following the paths of each soon-to-be rail route, and posted the results. With the completion of a video taken alongside the East End Line construction from Downtown to the Magnolia Transit Center posted yesterday (above), you can now spot-check progress in updated tours of each of them.

Ricco67’s update showing construction on the Southeast Line dates from last month:

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East End Line, Light-Rail, Metro, Metro Rail, New Construction, North Line, Southeast Line, Videos

New Construction

07/02/12 5:07pm

Light Rail Scorecard: 6 Miles Down, 9 To Go, Culberson Blocking Goal

by Swamplot

Proposed Developments, Public Transportation, Quicklink

47 Comments

LIGHT RAIL SCORECARD: 6 MILES DOWN, 9 TO GO, CULBERSON BLOCKING GOAL Metro says it’s now laid 6 miles of track for the 3 light-rail lines its working on — the new East End and Southeast Lines and the North Line extension. And construction is now under way on 10 of 24 new stations. All is on track for a 2014 opening date, including $200 million of federal funds for 2 of those lines, approved by a vote in the House of Representatives last Friday. Also approved within the same bill, though: Congressman John Culberson’s ban on federal funding for both the Uptown Line and the long-delayed University Line. A House-Senate conference committee will determine if the funding block remains in the bill’s final version. [Houston Chronicle] Photo: Metro

East End Line, Financing, Light-Rail, Metro, Metro Rail, New Construction, North Line, Southeast Line, University Line, Uptown Line

Art

03/15/12 9:38pm

Metro Marks the East End Line’s Halfway Point

by Swamplot

Magnolia Park, New Construction, Transportation

7 Comments

In honor of “nearly” reaching what it describes as the halfway point in constructing the new East End light-rail line, Metro is releasing this rendering showing what it’ll look like when riders reach the track’s end. It’s a view of the station at the Magnolia Park Transit Center on Harrisburg at 70th St., the line’s easternmost reach. For the most part, the basic structure of each station will be identical steel constructions with glass canopies — much as they are on the existing Main St. line.

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77011, Art, East End Line, Light-Rail, Magnolia Park, Metro, Metro Rail, New Construction

Public Transportation

12/20/11 7:04pm

Either/Or: New Metro Station Names Welcome Commuters with Healthy Supply of Slashes

by Swamplot

20 Comments

16 of the 25 official station names announced today for Metro’s new East End and Southeast light-rail lines and North Line extension include slashes. No, you won’t need to choose between Cesar Chavez and 67th Street: The Cesar Chavez/67th St. station will honor both. Same for MacGregor Park/MLK. The term “EaDo” has made it on to a station name — but only as part of the EaDo/Stadium team — not to be called “EaDo Stadium” of course, since Spanish bank BBVA Compass just paid a lot of money for the exclusive naming rights to the new soccer venue.

A few other station names you’ll want to be careful with:

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East End Line, Light-Rail, Metro, Metro Rail, North Line, Public Transportation, Real Estate Marketing, Southeast Line

New Construction

10/28/11 11:09am

Laying Down Tracks at Metro’s 72-Hour Harrisburg and Lockwood Rave

by Swamplot

Public Transportation, Streetscapes

10 Comments

From those rockin’ dudes at Metro, moving to their own beat: a timelapse view of last weekend’s marathon Friday night to Monday morning East End Line construction project at the intersection of Harrisburg and Lockwood. (Traffic lanes and utilities had already been installed.) The beat goes on. . . .

East End Line coverage [Swamplot]

Video: Metro

77011, East End, East End Line, Metro, Metro Rail, New Construction, Public Transportation, Streetscapes

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