TRANSPORTATION
Updates on key transportation projects
OTHER PROJECTS TO FOLLOW IN 2022
TOP TRANSPORTATION STORIES TO WATCH IN 2022
Phasework continues onBu alo Speedway in 2022 A project looking to improve drain- age and resurface sections of Bu alo Speedway that bisect the city of BY HUNTER MARROW
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West University Place will see some important updates in 2022, according to city o cials. Of the project’s four phases, Phase 2 and Phase 4 are under construction, said Gerardo Barrera, the city’s public works director. Phase 2, which runs from an outfall to the Poor Farm Ditch drainage channel to south of Cason Street, is set to be completed in 2022. Phase 4 focuses rst on the eastern north- bound lanes fromWroxton Road to Amherst Street, which are set to be completed in early 2022 and will be followed by work on western south- bound travel lanes, Barrera said. The construction crew will rst complete Phase 2 before moving on to Phase 3, which spans from Amherst to Cason. That phase of the project is set to begin in 2022 and is expected to be the most disruptive for drivers, Barrera said. The project’s phases had originally
Brays Bayou bridge rehabilitation A project to raise a South Rice Avenue bridge at Brays Bayou was completed in December, and a second project on a Chimney Rock Road bridge will be completed in early 2022. Two higher, longer and wider bridges will allow more stormwater ow. Timeline: winter 2020-early 2022 Cost: $20 million (both bridges) Funding sources: Army Corps of Engineers, Harris County Flood Control District
Construction is ongoing on Bu alo Speedway in West University Place. (George Wiebe/ Community Impact Newspaper)
been organized chronologically, but a utility relocation forced a change in timelines. Timeline: October 2018-2023 Cost: $23 million Funding sources: city of West University Place, Texas Department of Transporta- tion, federal grants
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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
BY JISHNU NAIR
will have 11 new grant programs to apply for. Raborn said the bill’s broad scope will increase funding to programs, such as the Surface Transportation Block Grant, which is seeing a 24% increase in funding. “It’s a big bill; there’s a lot in it,” Raborn said. “And so it’s going to take a lot of time for agencies like ours to nd and match the pieces to the needs they have.” Raborn 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. How- ever, he cautioned that other federal funding and regulatory hurdles need to be cleared before HGAC can begin discussing funding allocation. “It’s going to take a fair amount of time for [all of the funding announce- ments] to work their way through their processes before we start seeing that,” he said. Once the bill makes its way through Congress, Raborn said HGAC will get public input in the spring.
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 over ve years, according to Chandra Bhat at the University of Texas. Craig Raborn, transportation director of metropolitan planning organization Houston-Galveston Area Council, said Houston-area entities
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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.
INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT IN HOUSTON The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will boost federal programs and open new ones Houston-area entities can 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 Houston metro planning organizations will have 11 new grant programs to apply for. Of the $1.2 trillion approved in federal funding, Texas will receive $35 billion .
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COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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