TRANSPORTATIONUPDATES Congestion conditions continue to improve on Cy-Fair-area roads
CONDITIONS IMPROVING Road congestion levels dropped between 2018 and 2019 on most Cy-Fair-area roads, according to data from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
BY SHAWN ARRAJJ
$12.5 million in this year’s report, down from $31.5 million in the report from last year. Congestion also dropped on other major roads across the Cy-Fair area, including FM 529 from Hwy. 6 to Hwy. 290, and Hwy. 6 from south of Hwy. 290 to I-10. A few Cy-Fair roads rose in the rankings. FM 529 from Hwy. 6 west to Stockdick School Road increased from No. 186 to No. 159. However, the cost of congestion on that road actually fell over that time. The most congested road in the Houston area, according to the report, is the segment of Loop 610 between I-10 West and the Southwest Freeway. The road, which occupied the No. 1 spot on the list last year, was beaten by I-35 in Austin, which claimed the top spot this year. Based on preliminary data from 2020, Lomax said there has been a noted change in traffic patterns, including more muted morning rush hour peaks. “Even in the afternoons, we’re not seeing the same types of congestion,” he said. “It may be changing work habits with people going into the office fewer days a week, fewer hours in the day, working slightly different hours.” However, Lomax said it was too early to tell as to what extent those adaptations will remain after the pandemic subsides. “I tend to think we’re going to go back to something closer to the old normal,” he said.
Congestion decreased on several Cy-Fair roads between 2018 and 2019, which led to drops in hours of delay and the estimated cost of congestion on those roads, according to data released in December by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. The TTI released the data as a part of its annual ranking of the most con- gested roadways statewide. Because the data only covers 2019, it does not reflect any drops in congestion caused by the coronavirus pandemic, TTI Senior Research Engineer Tim Lomax said. Two segments of road in the Cy-Fair area that made the top 50 based on 2018 data—Hwy. 290 between Hwy. 6 and Beltway 8, and FM 1960 between Hwy. 290 and Hwy. 249—both fell outside of the top 50 under the 2019 data, and the stretch of Hwy. 290 fell outside of the top 100 entirely. The FM 1960 segment fell fromNo. 38 on the list in last year’s report to No. 54 on the list this year, making it the most congested road in the Cy-Fair area. The Hwy. 290 segment saw a steep drop fromNo. 33 last year to No. 137 this year. The report includes a “cost of con- gestion” for each road, which Lomax said looks at the loss of productivity as drivers wait in traffic as well as fuel wasted due to stop-and-go conditions. The estimated cost of congestion on Hwy. 290 between Hwy. 6 and Beltway 8 was estimated around
290
249
1960
99 TOLL
2
6
S T
1
5
529
4
6
7
STOCKDICK SCHOOL RD.
3
10
N
2018
2019
Congestion cost
Congestion cost
Roadway
Rank
Rank
Hwy. 290 from Hwy. 6 to Beltway 8 FM 1960 from Hwy. 290 to Hwy. 249 Hwy. 6 from Hwy. 290 to I-10 FM 529 from Hwy. 6 to Hwy. 290 FM 529 from Stockdick School Road to Hwy. 6 West Road from Barker Cypress Road to Hwy. 290 North Eldridge Parkway from Hwy. 290 to I-10
33
$31.5M 137
$12.5M
1
39
$30.5M 54
$25.4M
2
99
$32.3M 132
$26.2M
3
157
$12.1M 168
$11M
4
186
$17.2M 159
$16.6M
5
382
$8.4M 456
$7.3M
6
393
$13M
477
$11.1M
7
SOURCE: TEXAS A&M TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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CY-FAIR EDITION • FEBRUARY 2021
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