Tag Archives: TxDOT

So what’s the deal with that I-45 deal?

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Still to be determined. Houston, Harris County and the Texas Department of Transportation have an agreed path forward for rebuilding Interstate 45, and a lot of steps to get there. Details big and small remain works in progress and a … Continue reading →

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The road construction chaos that we know of for 2023

Posted on January 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Forewarned, forearmed, etc. A new year will mean major developments for some of the biggest highway projects in the region, but drivers should not expect them to be finished until 2024. The largest projects by the Texas Department of Transportation … Continue reading →

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Agreement reached on I-45 expansion plans

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I remain skeptical, but we’ll see. The bottleneck of design differences that has divided officials about remaking Interstate 45 north of downtown Houston is easing, officials said Monday, clearing the way for construction on the $10 billion project, perhaps in … Continue reading →

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Abbott bans TikTok on state-issued devices

Posted on December 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Honestly, I’m fine with this. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday a ban of the popular app TikTok from all government-issued devices. In a news release, the Republican said the Chinese government could use the app to access critical U.S. infrastructure … Continue reading →

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If we can’t get high speed rail in Texas…

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

… At least we can maybe get some more Amtrak service. San Antonio residents finally may get new rail service connecting them to Dallas, Houston and Austin, according to a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) filing. In an Oct. 5 … Continue reading →

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Too many bicyclists die on the roads around here

Posted on October 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We should be more upset about this. More than 100 bicyclists have died on Harris County roads over the past five years, according to data from the Texas Department of Transportation. A Chronicle analysis of TxDOT roadway crash data found … Continue reading →

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Is this enough lipstick for the I-45 project?

Posted on September 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

You decide. A downtown economic development group hopes proposed “green” and multimodal amenities will make the controversial I-45 expansion plan more palatable for the project’s critics. The multi-billion-dollar plan by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to widen and reroute … Continue reading →

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Unifying the opposition to massive urban highway projects

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good idea, ought to have some effect, but changing the overall culture and philosophy about transportation in Texas is a very big lift. Opponents of some of Texas’ largest transportation projects are unifying their messaging, pushing state highway officials to … Continue reading →

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More on A Tale Of Two Bridges

Posted on September 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

After I wrote about the effort to get two new bike and pedestrian bridges built in the Heights area, with the intent of making some new connections across the White Oak Bayou and to the existing White Oak Bayou Trail, … Continue reading →

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Woodland Heights Civic Association opposes I-10 elevation proposal

Posted on September 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

That’s my neighborhood, and this is the email they sent out on Thursday about it. In recent weeks the WHCA has challenged TxDOT on their plan to elevate I-10 near our neighborhood between Heights Blvd. and I-45. Due to the … Continue reading →

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Yes, let’s build more bike trail bridges

Posted on August 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all about connectivity. Stopping for a water break on the normal blistering-hot Houston day, bicyclist Reagan Smithers, 33, can see the tops of the trees along her street from the White Oak Bayou Trail. As the grackle flies – … Continue reading →

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Elevating I-10

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

My antennae are up about this. A state proposal to elevate Interstate 10 near White Oak Bayou is raising concerns among neighbors, who worry about the effects a higher freeway would have on noise and drainage. The $347 million project, … Continue reading →

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TxDOT sued over its enviromental impact assessments

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. After college, Michael Moritz got a job in Houston analyzing fatal car crashes. Moritz, a 27-year-old native of San Antonio, stood on Interstate Highway 45, one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the country, and documented … Continue reading →

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If the only choices are “take it or leave it”, well…

Posted on July 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Leave it doesn’t sound so bad given the alternative. One year ago, opponents of the state’s plan to rebuild Interstate 45 in Houston criticized the “take it or leave it” option state officials offered regarding amending plans for the mega-project. Tuesday, as … Continue reading →

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Is there one last twist in the West 11th Street saga?

Posted on June 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This was posted as an update to the change.org petition in support of the West 11th Street project: The opposition to making 11th street safer is asking TXDOT to stop the project-we need your help! The group that has organized … Continue reading →

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Our electric car charging stations future

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Lots more are coming. Texas is planning to add enough electric vehicle charging stations throughout the state to support 1 million electric vehicles with dozens of new stations to allow for easier long-distance travel. In a draft plan released this … Continue reading →

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Are road signs that warn about highway fatalities a danger?

Posted on May 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Could be. Driving along Texas highways, drivers will likely see electric signs that provide real-time traffic alerts, weather information or unique public safety announcements. While these signs are designed to increase public safety, new evidence suggests that one type does more harm than good. A recent … Continue reading →

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Now you really need to avoid the 59/610 interchange

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome to hell. Starting this weekend, Texas’ worst bottleneck is going to be an even bigger pain for drivers as the rebuild of the Interstate 69 and Loop 610 interchange turns a corner and takes out a key connector ramp. … Continue reading →

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Our deadly roads

Posted on April 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It was a bad year last year. Last year was the second deadliest on record for vehicle fatalities on Texas roads, reflecting a lethal trend here and throughout the nation, especially in large urban areas. In 2021, 4,480 people died … Continue reading →

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State wants feds to un-pause I-45

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We all want things. State highway officials held fast to their plans for rebuilding Interstate 45 in Houston on Thursday, offering a litany of benefits the project will bring and pressing federal officials to lift a 12-month-and-counting pause on development. … Continue reading →

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The I-45 project gets a wee bit more expensive

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Eh, what’s another $750 million? Typically, $750 million is the total cost for a major highway project, one that would take years to spend that kind of money. In the case of TxDOT’s plans for a mammoth rebuild of Interstate … Continue reading →

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Get ready for more construction in 2022

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Happy New Year! Here are the places you’ll want to avoid driving in 2022. Flush with green, Houston area transportation officials have a whiteboard full of highway and transit projects poised to start in 2022, but rolling out all that … Continue reading →

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Federal complaint filed over I-45 project

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this in the barrage of news from the last few days. Critics of the plan to remake Interstate 45 north of downtown Houston filed a nearly 100-page complaint to federal officials Thursday, urging even greater scrutiny of the project’s … Continue reading →

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Some I-45 work to resume

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Just some design work, for now. Federal officials have lifted their pause on a small piece of the planned Interstate 45 mega-project that will remake downtown Houston’s freeway system and has divided state transportation planners, community groups and local politicians. … Continue reading →

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Yeah, traffic is worse than before

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

You’re not surprised, are you? By most measures, traffic is back to pre-COVID congestion levels — or even more clogged in some cases. What seems to have changed, based on a handful of studies that looked at different facets of … Continue reading →

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Harris County to pause the I-45 lawsuit

Posted on November 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna give talking a try. You never know. Harris County will pause its lawsuit against the Texas Department of Transportation over the proposed Interstate 45 widening in hopes that it leads to a consensus that has eluded them for more … Continue reading →

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Republicans want to get the I-45 project going again

Posted on November 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We all want things. Seven Republican members of Congress from the Houston area are urging federal transportation officials to quickly wrap up a review of Texas’ planned Interstate 45 rebuild, arguing that much of the opposition to the project is … Continue reading →

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Another look at I-35 expansion

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From Slate: Built on top of tree-lined East Avenue, the road opened in 1962, cutting off Black and Mexican-American East Austin from Downtown. Like urban renewal projects in other American cities, the road’s destructive legacy has recently been reconsidered in racial terms. … Continue reading →

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The fight over widening I-35

Posted on September 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hold tough, Austin. We feel your pain here. In May 2019, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) unveiled a $7.5 billion plan to expand the abhorred stretch of I-35 that snakes through the center of Austin. Dubbed the Capital Express … Continue reading →

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I-45 remains in the funding plan

Posted on September 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

For now. Ask again in 90 days. Interstate 45 still is on a road to rebuild after Texas transportation officials on Tuesday kept the controversial project in the state’s 10-year construction plans, but warned that failing to get federal highway … Continue reading →

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Will TxDOT pull funding from the I-45 project?

Posted on August 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It could happen. Supporters of state plans to rebuild Interstate 45 from downtown Houston northward trekked to Austin on Thursday to keep the imperiled project on pace, fearing the region could be stuck with an aging freeway and no sign … Continue reading →

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The I-45 survey

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Who thought this was a good idea? The fate of the massive $9 billion project may depend on how many people who agree with Smith or agree with Davies fill out an online poll — after 15 years of planning, … Continue reading →

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Can you tell me how to get (safely) to Memorial Park?

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Safety is nice. A $200 million-plus plan to improve [Memorial Park] is aimed at making it a signature destination for all Houstonians. With that success, though, will come the same challenges anything popular in Houston faces: How will people get … Continue reading →

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Back to the public input phase for I-45

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They hear, but will they listen? Hemmed between a request for a pause by federal highway officials and an outcry from opponents, planners of a massive rebuild of Interstate 45 in Houston are taking their plans back to the public … Continue reading →

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