Cy-Fair Edition | February 2022

TRANSPORTATIONUPDATES

COMPILED BY EMILY LINCKE, DANICA LLOYD & JISHNU NAIR

UPCOMING PROJECTS

1960

N. ELDRIDGE PKWY.

290

FM 1960 widening The Texas Department of Transporta- tion plans to reconstruct and widen a half-mile stretch of FM 1960 near the North Eldridge Parkway intersection. Ocials said the project is slated to go out for bids in March with construc- tion starting this summer. Deidrea George, a public information ocer with TxDOT’s Houston oce, said the project will also feature intersection improvements. Timeline: summer 2022-summer 2024 Cost: TBD Funding source: TxDOT

A conceptual rendering shows what a high-speed rail station in Dallas could look like. (Rendering courtesy Texas Central)

Texas Supreme Court begins rehearing of high- speed rail eminent domain case, new land bill led

The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the rehearing of a petition against the construction of a high- speed rail line Jan. 11. The case centers on a 236-mile high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas being planned by the company Texas Central. Filed by landowner JimMiles in 2016, the lawsuit argues Texas Central does not qualify as a railroad company under state law and therefore cannot use eminent domain to acquire land needed to construct the line. The Supreme Court initially declined to hear the case in June after an appeals court ruled Texas Central could be dened as a railroad company. Miles petitioned for a rehearing, which the court granted Oct. 15. Attorney Jerey Levinger of Dallas-based Levinger PC, representing Miles, focused his arguments on whether Texas Central needed to be operating railroads to be considered a railroad company. Levinger also noted Texas Central had not applied for a permit from the Surface Transportation Board, a federal regulatory agency. The STB rejected a Texas Central petition for an exemption from construction approval requirements in July 2020. Levinger argued construction approval would require the company to disclose its nances. “They’ve got serious nancial issues demonstrating where they’re going to get the $18 [billion]-$30 billion needed to nish this project,” Levinger said.

Texas Central declined to comment on its available funds or whether it would receive federal funds from the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure deal. However, Marie Yeates of Vinson and Elkins LLC, representing the railroad, said the company had received federal funds as part of her argument that Texas Central is “not a sham.” “The question is whether we’re going to allow [land- owners who do not allow property surveys] to prevent Texas from getting the benet of this train,” Yeates said. Lawmakers le land acquisition rights bill U.S. Reps. Jake Ellzey, RWaxahachie, and Kevin Brady, RThe Woodlands, on Jan. 10 led a bill in Congress requir- ing high-speed rail projects to acquire all land necessary before beginning construction. The bill directs the STB to reject construction authoriza- tion for high-speed rail projects longer than 10 miles that have not acquired all necessary land. In a news release, Brady said the bill would protect the rights of landowners along planned railroads. “Many questions remain about Texas Central’s plans to build and nance this controversial high-speed rail proj- ect, and I support any necessary reforms that will protect the rights of landowners whose farms, ranches and homes sit along their proposed route,” Brady said. Texas Central declined to comment on the bill.

1960

249

FM 1960 construction In August, construction on a

ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF JAN. 14. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT CYFNEWSCOMMUNITYIMPACT.COM. and Cutten Road. The project will include an added through lane, turn lanes, sidewalks and trac signals. Timeline: August 2022-December 2024 Cost: $20 million Funding sources: 80% federal, 20% state $20 million project from TxDOT will begin along FM 1960 between where the roadway intersects with Hwy. 249

LEASE SOMETHING NEW FOR 2022 Y AC LUXUR TIVE SENIOR LIVING STARTING AT $1300 ( 8 3 2 ) 9 5 2 - 3 012

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12 8 4 0 J o n e s Rd , Ho u s t o n , T X 77070 • A r e l l a J o n e s . c om

CYFAIR EDITION • FEBRUARY 2022