TRANSPORTATION
Updates on key transportation projects
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OTHER PROJECTS TO FOLLOW IN 2022
TOP TRANSPORTATION STORIES TO WATCH IN 2022
Ground breaks on project on Shepherd, Durhamdrives BY SHAWN ARRAJJ The redevelopment of roughly 5 miles of Shepherd and Durham drives from Loop 610 to I-10West kicked o Dec. 4 with a ceremonial ground breaking. The project will reduce the number of tra c lanes on each road from four to three, and add protected bike lanes and side- walks. The $115 million project will take ve to six years to complete. Current and future tra c volume projections warranted the lane reduction, Houston Public Works Director Carol Haddock said. The project also includes installing new tra c signals, crosswalk striping and wider sidewalks. Construction will begin in January on Phase 1. Phase 2 could start in 2023.
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West Alabama Street paving Construction will start in early 2022 on a project that involves making paving and drainage improvements to a segment of West Alabama Street between Weslayan Street and Bu alo Speedway. Improvements include new concrete streets with storm drainage, new curbs, sidewalks, driveways, street lighting and updates to underground utility infrastructure. Timeline: winter 2022-spring 2023 Cost: $15.87 million Funding source: city of Houston
Newsection ofMemorial Drive to open amidwork on land bridge Work is moving along on schedule on a 100-acre land bridge project connecting the northern and southern portions of Memorial Park in Houston. (Shawn Arrajj/ Community Impact Newspaper)
BY SHAWN ARRAJJ
habitats from the south side of the park to the north side, facilitating drainage and accommodating wildlife movement. The $70 million project is being funded through a public-private partnership between the conser- vancy and Houston Public Works, though most of the funding comes from philanthropy, o cials said. Meanwhile, construction will start in January on a project to move the Seymour Lieberman Trail away from Memorial Drive and integrate it more with the land bridge, Odinet said.
Work is moving along on a 100- acre land bridge project connecting the northern and southern portions of Memorial Park in Houston. That project is slated for comple- tion in 2022, but o cials with the Memorial Park Conservancy said new lanes of Memorial Drive will open to drivers starting in February. Eastbound lanes will open to drivers in late February, said Randy Odinet, the conservancy’s vice presi- dent of capital projects and facilities. Westbound lanes are slated to open roughly six weeks later, he said. The new road will feature three lanes in each direction. The bridge will create a full land crossing of Memorial Drive, which Odinet said presents an opportunity to connect
New stations are being planned. (Rendering courtesy Texas Central)
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High-speed rail The Texas Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Jan. 11 in a case over whether Texas Central—the company looking to build a 236-mile high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas— is considered a railroad company under state law and has the power to use eminent domain. If the company wins, construction on the project is expected to start soon after the decision.
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Houston-areamobility groups plan for federal funds from$1.2 trillion bill
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over ve years, according to Chandra Bhat, the director of the Center for Transportation Research at The University of Texas. Craig Raborn, transportation director of metropolitan planning organization Houston-Galveston Area Council, highlighted new programs that could target resiliency and ood
control as areas of interest, such as the PROTECT Program, which provides up to $8.7 billion to help reinforce surface transportation routes and evacuation routes. “It’s going to take a lot of time for agencies like ours to nd and match the pieces to the needs they have,” he said.
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President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law Nov. 6, provid- ing funds for projects nationwide. Texas is expected to get about $35 billion of that funding, while existing federal aid programs will receive an in ux of $265.4 billion INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT IN HOUSTON The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will boost federal programs and open new ones Houston-area entities can apply for.
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North Houston Highway Improvement Project
A group of advocates led a 100-page complaint with the Federal Highway Administration on Dec. 16 amid an ongoing federal investigation into civil rights complaints related to the project, which seeks to expand and reroute portions of I-45 between Beltway 8 and downtown Houston. The complaint urges greater scrutiny of the project’s e ects on minority communities.
Houston metro planning organizations will have 11 new grant programs to apply for. Existing federal programs will see an increase of $265.4 billion over ve years . SOURCES: INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT; CHANDRA BHAT, UT AUSTIN; HOUSTON GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER Of the $1.2 trillion approved in federal funding, Texas will receive $35 billion .
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HEIGHTS RIVER OAKS MONTROSE EDITION • JANUARY 2022
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