TxDOT
The following is excerpted from the District H Weekly News on 12/19/2019.
“Learn about the biggest takeaways for the Preferred Alternative I-45 design based on TxDOT's newly updated draft of the Community Impacts Assessment Technical Report by visiting this link. Be sure to respond to TxDOT during the public comment period by 1/10/19. Read Council Member Cisneros' letter to TxDOT requesting an extension of the deadline for public comment on the new draft here.”
The City and its technical team are gathering input to develop alternative designs and make recommendations to TXDOT and has developed an interactive map that can be accessed here. Please join Council Member Cisneros for the upcoming COH Planning Department Workshops on the IH-45 project. More info here. Additional workshops are being scheduled for late Sept./early Oct. (TBD).
Tuesday, 8/13/19, 6 pm - 7:30 pm, Optional intro at 5:40 pm
Harris County Dept. of Education, 6300 Irvington Blvd.
Accessible by METRO 79
Focus on Segment 2 & 3-North (I-610 to I-10 & I-10 to US-59)
Thursday, 8/15/19, 6 - 7:30 pm, Optional intro at 5:40 pm
Aldine Ninth Grade School, 10650 North Freeway
Accessible by METRO 56, 59, 99
Focus on Segment 1-North (Beltway 8 to N. Shepherd)
Saturday, 8/17/19, 10 am - 11:30 am, Optional intro at 9:40 am
Burrus Elementary School, 701 E. 33rd St.
Accessible by METRO 44 & 56
Focus on Segment 1-South (N. Shepherd to I-610)
IH 45 North Freeway Northbound Frontage Road between the IH 610 N. Loop and E. Tidwell: Alternate Lane(s) Closed Continuously between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and again between 8:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and 5:00 AM on Monday, 04.15.19. At least one lane will remain open at all times.
IH 45 North Freeway Northbound Exit Ramp to Crosstimbers: Total Closure between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and again between 8:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and 5:00 AM on Monday, 04.15.19. Detour via the IH 45 Northbound Main lanes to the Airline Dr. Exit. Exit Ramp; then follow the IH 45 Northbound Frontage Rd. to the U-Turn at Airline. Follow the U-Turn at Airline to the IH 45 Southbound Frontage Rd. Follow the IH 45 Southbound Frontage Rd. to Crosstimbers St. Please note that this ramp closure will alternate with the Airline Exit Ramp closure and that only one ramp will be closed at a time.
IH 45 North Freeway Northbound Exit Ramp to Airline Dr.: Total Closure between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and again between 8:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and 5:00 AM on Monday, 04.15.19. Detour via the IH 45 Northbound Mainlanes to the Tidwell Rd. Exit Ramp; then follow the IH 45 Northbound Frontage Rd. to the U-Turn at E. Tidwell. Follow the U-Turn at E. Tidwell to the IH 45 Southbound Frontage Rd.. Follow the IH 45 Southbound Frontage Rd. to Airline. Please note that this ramp closure will alternate with the Crosstimbers Exit Ramp closure and that only one ramp will be closed at a time.
IH 45 North Freeway Southbound Frontage Road. between E. Tidwell and the IH 610 N. Loop: Alternate Lane(s) Closed Continuously between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and again between 8:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and 5:00 AM on Monday, 04.15.19. At least one lane will remain open at all times.
IH 45 North Freeway Southbound Entrance Ramp from Airline: Total Closure between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and again between 8:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and 5:00 AM on Monday, 04.15.19. Detour via the IH 45 Southbound frontage road to the Crosstimbers Entrance Ramp. Please note that this ramp closure will alternate with the Crosstimbers Exit Ramp, the Exit 52A Exit Ramp and the Crosstimbers entrance ramp closures and that only one ramp will be closed at a time.
IH 45 North Freeway Southbound Exit Ramp to Crosstimbers: Total Closure between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and again between 8:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and 5:00 AM on Monday, 04.15.19. Detour via the IH 45 Southbound Main lanes to the Southbound Frontage Road (Exit 52A) Exit Ramp; follow the IH 45 Southbound Frontage Rd. to the U-Turn. Follow the U-Turn at end of the frontage road to the IH 45 Northbound Frontage Rd. Follow the IH 45 Northbound Frontage Rd. to Crosstimbers. Please note that this ramp closure will alternate with the Southbound Entrance Ramp from Airline and that only one ramp will be closed at a time.
IH 45 North Freeway Southbound Exit Ramp to the IH 45 Southbound Frontage Rd. (Exit 52A): Total Closure between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and again between 8:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and 5:00 AM on Monday, 04.15.19. Detour via the IH 45 Southbound Main lanes to the W. Cavalcade Exit Ramp; then follow the IH 45 Southbound Frontage Rd. to the U-Turn at W. Cavalcade. Follow the U-Turn to the IH 45 Northbound Frontage Rd. Follow the IH 45 Northbound Frontage Rd. to the next northbound entrance ramp. Follow the IH 45 Northbound Mainlanes to the E. Crosstimbers Exit. Turn Left, (West) on Crosstimbers and then turn Left, (South) on the IH 45 Southbound Frontage Rd.
Please note that this ramp closure will alternate with the Southbound Exit Ramp to Crosstimbers closure and that only one ramp will be closed at a time.
IH 45 North Freeway Southbound Entrance Ramp from Crosstimbers: Total Closure between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and again between 8:00 PM on Friday, 04.12.19 and 5:00 AM on Monday, 04.15.19. . Detour via the IH 45 Southbound Frontage Rd. to the U-Turn at end of frontage road; Follow the U-Turn to the IH 45 Northbound Frontage Rd. Follow the IH 45 Northbound Frontage Rd. to Airline. Follow the U-Turn at Airline to the IH 45 Southbound Frontage Rd. Follow the IH 45 Southbound Frontage Rd to the entrance ramp from Airline. Please note that this ramp closure will alternate with the Southbound Entrance Ramp from Crosstimbers and that only one ramp will be closed at a time.
The following is from the notice sent by TxDOT to anyone who has expressed an interest or registered a comment about the project.
Join us to provide your input on the proposed North Houston Highway Improvement Project! The proposed North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP) includes the following improvements:
Public scoping meetings have already been conducted in 2011 and 2012, as well as a series of public meetings in 2013 and 2015 to present information. The public hearings will present the recommended alternatives and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for public review:
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
St. Pius X High School
811 West Donovan Street Houston, TX 77091
Open House: 5:30 p.m.
Public Hearing: 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Houston Community College Central Campus
San Jacinto Building
1300 Holman Street Houston, TX 77004
Open House: 5:30 p.m.
Public Hearing: 6:30 p.m.
The first part of the meeting will be an open house format so citizens may come and go at their convenience, followed by a formal presentation and comment period. Please note: The same information will be presented at both meetings. The hearing will be conducted in English with simultaneous Spanish translation. Comments must be postmarked or emailed by Tuesday, June 27, 2017, to be part of the official hearing record.
Special accommodations: If you have a disability and need assistance, special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs. If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation to attend this meeting, please call the public information officer at (713) 802-5076 at least five working days prior to the meeting. Every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate these needs.
The environmental review, consultation and other actions required by applicable federal environmental laws for this project are being, or have been, carried out by TxDOT pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 327 and a Memorandum of Understanding dated Dec. 16, 2014, and executed by FHWA and TxDOT.
We also encourage you to see the online meeting notice as well as the I45NorthandMore project website.
Please note: This email is an automated notification, which is unable to be monitored. We're happy to help you with any questions or concerns you may have. Please contact the Houston Public Information Office at HOU-piowebmail@txdot.gov or at 713-802-5076 at any time about this project.
From the Editor - WH neighbor Jim West has made a huge effort to stay abreast of TxDOTs plans for I-45 expansion. What follows is derived from his most recent update posted to NextDoor, reproduced here with permission.
The I-45 Project – Planning Stage is coming to an end! This next meeting is a HEARING - much different from the public meetings that TxDOT has been holding.
This HEARING is the last meeting where the public will be heard! After a short comment period following the hearing, nothing else will go on record about the project.
After the Hearing, the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) will be completed – estimated to be complete next year – in 2018. Then a R.O.D. (Record of Decision) – also in 2018. And TxDOT will immediately start acquiring Right-of-way where needed and finish designs. 1st phase of construction will begin on Segment 3 (downtown) – estimated to start in 2020.
There are only 2 HEARINGS scheduled at this time. You may remember that normally there were 3 meetings including one held at Jeff Davis High School (now Northside High School). Northside is currently being renovated so no meeting can be held there. We are asking TxDOT for a meeting that is convenient to Segment 2… but so far, no luck.
As a quick summary, there are 3 Segments involved in the project:
We are currently in the final year of an approximately 12-year planning phase. TxDOT has held 4 public meetings – in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015. Part of this project, is the re-routing of I-45 at Pierce Elevated and moving it to be coincident with I-10 on the north side of downtown and coincident with US-59 on the east side of Downtown. Directly east of George Brown Convention both US-59 and I-45 will be below-grade.
This is a major project that is estimated to cost between $6 Billion and $7 Billion, WITHOUT right-of-way costs included.
I am part of the I-45 Coalition, which is an all-volunteer group that was formed to address issues related to the planned construction of I-45 and to work with TxDOT to ensure that the pending construction comply with these 3 tenets:
We have not been very successful in these 3 tenets...but we have helped improve the project.
Regarding ROW in Segment 1 – 212 acres of land will be taken; Segment 2 – 19 acres of land and in Segment 3 – 79 acres of land.
In Segment 2 – the North St. Bridge will be removed. The main roadway of I-45 will be raised to almost grade level at North St. so it is impossible with the current engineering to have any bridge there.
If you have commented or attended any of the prior meetings before, you should have received, or will soon receive notification via USPS of the 2 meetings locations from TxDOT.
Tuesday, May 9th
St. Pius X High School
811 W. Donovan Street
Houston, TX 77091
Thursday, May 11th
Houston Community College – Central Campus
1300 Holman Street - San Jacinto Building
Houston, TX 77004
Displays will be available for viewing at 5:30 pm, formal hearing starts at 6:30 pm.
Please review TxDOT’s plan, maps & designs on their website, www.ih45northandmore.com. As of today, the documents that will be shown at the hearing are NOT on the website…but they should be there soon.
One major concern I have was in the announcement of the public hearing that was on the web-site. It states…”Some of the design changes are not included in the current evaluation of alternatives …. but will be presented at the Public Hearing and included and evaluated in the Final Environmental Impact Statement”. This means that TxDOT could present changes at the Public Hearing that folks will see for the very 1st time. Then we must evaluate all consequences of the change(s) and speak up at the very same meeting…which is the final meeting on the project!
This seems to be exactly opposite method of trying to build consensus with the taxpayers and stakeholders. There will be a comment period to June 3rd or later (I haven’t seen the official deadline) … but the whole purpose of having meetings for more than 10 years with the community is to develop a project that the public agrees with and supports … last minute changes do not support that concept.
It seems that now that we are down to the final meeting/HEARING – it is simple wrong to propose design changes that NO ONE HAS SEEN. Hopefully, any changes that TxDOT presents are ones that the community have requested…but it seems like proposed design changes should at least be on the TxDOT web site months before the HEARING! ...not the day of the HEARING!
It is critical that you attend either Hearing (or both!) This truly is the last opportunity to have your voice heard! Please stay involved or get involved!
