TRANSPORTATION
Top transportation stories to watch in 2023
2023 ANNUAL COMMUNITY GUIDE
Houston faces large road striping backlog in 2023 BY LEAH FOREMAN Roads without adequate striping to identify lanes are raising concerns about safety for several members of Houston City Council. Public data from the city of Houston showed more than 300 calls to the city’s 311 line to address striping dating back to March 2020. However, Erin Jones, interim communications director with the Houston Public Works Department, disputed the use of the word “backlog” to describe the situation. She said some proposed pavement projects may not have met a “service level agreement”—a time frame that has been agreed upon among the mayor, City Council and the city departments on how long they have to fulll those requests. “So it may be considered a backlog in some areas and then others they just may not have met the service level agreement,” she said. At-Large Council Member Sallie Alcorn, who has been looking into the issue, said she received a statement from the public works department, a copy of which was provided to Community Impact. “The trac markings requests that cannot be
OTHER PROJECTS TO FOLLOW IN 2023
PAVING PROBLEMS Requests to address inadequate paving in the Greater Houston area have been made around Kingwood and northeast Houston.
NORTHPARK PLAZA DR.
Striping requests
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NORTHPARK DR.
Lane line Center line
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KINGWOOD DR.
KINGWOOD DR.
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Loop 494 expansion Construction is set to wrap up in the second quarter of 2023 on a project to expand Loop 494 between a half- mile north of Kingwood Drive and north of Sorters McClellan Road. The project will expand the road segment from two to four lanes with a raised turf median, center turn lanes at intersections and sidewalks. Timeline: July 15, 2019-second quarter 2023 Cost: $17.56 million Funding sources: 80% federal, 20% state
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CLAYTON
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SOURCE: HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT
performed in-house ... are performed by a contract (outside contractors), and the contract is not currently active due to legal issues. [Transportation and Drainage Operations] is working diligently to resolve this situation and expects to resume the pavement marking program soon,” the statement read. At a Nov. 9 meeting where the issue was discussed, Mayor Sylvester Turner said it was the rst he had heard of the issue. Jones said public works had over 700 requests for pavement markings in March 2020; 2,476 have since been completed. Data shows six of those striping requests are located in Kingwood and northeast Houston.
SAN JACINTO BRIDGE
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BUSINESS FM 1960
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TWIGSWORTH LN.
Northpark Drive overpass construction to begin in spring 2023
FM 1960 widening Work is expected to continue through 2025 on two projects to widen FM 1960 from four to six lanes. A Segment A runs from Business FM 1960 to Twigsworth Lane, while B Segment B continues from Twigsworth Lane to the San Jacinto River bridge. Segment B will also include the construction of an overpass at the intersection on FM 1960 and West Lake Houston Parkway. Timeline: late 2021-2025 Cost: $58.2 million (Segment A), $70 million (Segment B) Funding source: Texas Department of Transportation
Construction on the long-awaited Northpark Drive overpass project is expected to begin this spring, according to ocials with the Lake Houston Redevelopment Authority, also known as Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 10. As previously reported by Community Impact , LHRA board members approved a contract for the project with Harper Brothers Construction at their Dec. 8 BY HANNAH BROL & WESLEY GARDNER
board meeting. Upon completion, the project will expand Northpark Drive from four to six lanes between Hwy. 59 and Russell Palmer Road and add an overpass over the Union Pacic railroad and Loop 494. The project is expected to take roughly 30 months to complete once construction begins. The city of Houston has contributed roughly $9.5 million toward the $52 million project with TIRZ 10 picking up the remainder of the bill.
OVERPASS OVERVIEW
UNION PACIFIC CORP. RAILROAD
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LAKE HOUSTON HUMBLE KINGWOOD EDITION • JANUARY 2023
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