Tag Archives: TxDOT

Of course the I-45 project will cost more than expected

Posted on September 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Same as it ever was. The first major road work set for downtown Houston related to the $11.2 billion-plus rebuild of the freeway core and Interstate 45 remains on track for next year, but at a cost of $80 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, downtown, Houston, I-10, I-45, Stop I-45, Texas, TxDOT | 1 Comment

On burying a freeway and building a park over it

Posted on August 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Noting this for the record. As a high-stakes project to sink I-35 through downtown Austin kicks into gear this summer, city officials and the University of Texas are looking to Dallas for a possible glimpse of the future. The vision: … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Austin, construction, Dallas, downtown, I-35, I-45, I-45 Parkway, Klyde Warren Park, No Higher No Wider I-10, Pierce Elevated, Pierce Skypark, Rethink35, Texas, tunnel, TxDOT | 3 Comments

Of course the I-10 project will cost more than expected

Posted on August 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The sun rises in the east, water is wet, etc etc etc. Lifting Interstate 10 out of White Oak Bayou’s floodway is poised to cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars more than anticipated, as bids to build the project … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged BRT, construction, Heights, Houston, HOV lanes, I-10, I-45, Inner Katy line, Metro, Texas, TxDOT, White Oak Bayou | 1 Comment

A high level overview of passenger rail in Texas

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

There’s stuff happening, mostly talk for now but maybe there will be more. A robust passenger rail system has long been seen as a pipe dream in car-dependent Texas. But a glut of federal dollars for rail projects and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Amtrak, Andy Byford, Austin, Commission for High-Speed Rail in Dallas/Fort Worth, Dallas, Fort Worth, high speed rail, Houston, Joe Biden, Lone Star High Speed Rail, San Antonio, stimulus, Texas, Texas Central High-Speed Railway, Texas Rail Advocates, The Lege, TxDOT | Comments Off

More on the I-10 project and “No Higher No Wider”

Posted on July 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This story is primarily about the effect of the proposed I-10 widening/elevating would have on the Cottage Grove neighborhood, which was previously split in two by the highway’s construction in 1968. That’s all worth reading, but I’m focusing on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged BRT, construction, Cottage Grove, Heights, Houston, HOV lanes, I-10, I-45, Inner Katy line, Metro, No Higher No Wider I-10, Texas, TxDOT, White Oak Bayou | Comments Off

I-45 construction set to begin

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here it comes. Houston’s largest-ever freeway project is one step closer to starting construction, with crews poised to begin digging in the dirt along Interstate 69 by fall. After years of planning and sometimes fiery debate, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, Houston, I-10, I-45, Stop I-45, Texas, TxDOT | 1 Comment

We need to pay more attention to the I-10 construction proposals

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

By which I mostly mean I need to pay more attention to them, because they sound terrible. Between the shrill of large trucks barreling down Interstate 10 – when only the whoosh of cars dominates the din – Matt Tetlow … Continue reading →

I-10 elevation update

Posted on January 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From the Woodland Heights Civic Association January newsletter: I-10 Heights to I-45 Project Update: Community Advocacy Leads to Significant Changes The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has announced modifications to its $347 million plan to elevate a section of Interstate … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged bike trails, BRT, construction, Federal Highway Administration, flooding, Heights, Houston, I-10, I-45, Inner Katy line, Metro, MKT Trail, National Environmental Policy Act, noise, TxDOT, White Oak Bayou | 3 Comments

Texas TiKTok ban upheld

Posted on December 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, professors. A U.S. judge on Monday upheld Texas’ ban on state employees’, including public university employees, using Chinese-owned short video app TikTok on state-owned devices or networks. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed suit in July … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged ByteDance, China, Coalition for Independent Technology Research, cybersecurity, Greg Abbott, Knight First Amendment Institute, lawsuit, Montana, Texas, Texas A&M, TikTok, TSU, TxDOT, UH, University of North Texas, UT | Comments Off

Montana TikTok ban blocked

Posted on December 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Montana’s first-in-the-nation law banning the video-sharing app TikTok in the state was blocked Thursday, one month before it was set to take effect, by a federal judge who called the measure unconstitutional. The ruling delivered a temporary win … Continue reading →

Cruise and Houston

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

An interesting overview of the currently-on-pause driverless taxi service in our town. The nationwide pause included Houston and Austin. However, no Texas or local entity required Cruise to take its vehicles off the road because they legally could not. Senate … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Austin, California, Cruise, driverless cars, General Motors, Houston, HPD, Metro, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Nuro, pedestrians, San Francisco, Texas, The Lege, TSU, TxDOT | Comments Off

TikTok ban lawsuit has its day in court

Posted on November 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like it was a pretty good day for the plaintiffs, but as we know that’s the first very small step in a long journey. A federal judge seemed skeptical of the state’s reasoning to ban TikTok on Texas public … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged ByteDance, China, Coalition for Independent Technology Research, cybersecurity, Greg Abbott, Knight First Amendment Institute, lawsuit, Texas, Texas A&M, TikTok, TSU, TxDOT, UH, University of North Texas, UT | Comments Off

A brief primer on driverless cars

Posted on November 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib: It’s 8 p.m. in downtown Austin, and the electric cars silently exit the parking lot one by one — but no one is behind the wheel of any of them. The Cruise depot is full of people … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Austin, California, Cruise, driverless cars, Houston, Nuro, San Francisco, Texas, TxDOT, Waymo | Comments Off

Fair For Houston approved for the ballot

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

And the questions about what it can accomplish if it passes have begun. Houston voters will decide whether the city should be part of a regional government board that does not give it proportional voting power, after City Council placed … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged Election 2023, Fair For Houston, Harris County, HGAC, Houston, metropolitan planning organizations, petitions, Sylvester Turner, TxDOT | Comments Off

Fair For Houston gets its item on the ballot

Posted on August 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see it. The city of Houston is one step closer to potentially reshaping its relationship with the influential Houston-Galveston Area Council after officials verified Thursday that a charter amendment campaign had met the threshold for appearing on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged Election 2023, Fair For Houston, Harris County, HGAC, Houston, metropolitan planning organizations, petitions, TxDOT | 1 Comment

UT professors sue over TikTok ban

Posted on July 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t wait to see how this one plays out. A group of college professors is suing Texas for banning TikTok on public-university computers and phones, saying it has undermined their ability to teach students and research one of the … Continue reading →

Fair for Houston backers submit their signatures

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see if they get their item on the ballot. With the bulk of the population but a fraction of the power, Houston and Harris County long have complained about getting shortchanged when the influential Houston-Galveston Area Council speaks for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged Election 2023, Fair For Houston, Harris County, HGAC, Houston, metropolitan planning organizations, petitions, Sylvester Turner, The Lege, Trey Duhon, TxDOT | Comments Off

The I-45 project will be old enough to vote before it is finished

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Isn’t that nice? Often called a once-in-a-generation project, the planned $9.7 billion-plus rebuild of I-45 from downtown Houston north to Beltway 8, including a total reconstruction of the downtown freeway system, is expected to take a generation to build. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, Harris County, Houston, I-10, I-45, I-610, Stop I-45, Texas, TxDOT, US59 | 2 Comments

Hazmat routes

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This story made me think about a thing I basically never think about, and now I wish I didn’t have to think about it. Toxic inhalants, flammable gases and explosive chemicals are just some of what rolls along Dallas-Fort Worth … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Dallas, DPS, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, hazardous materials, I-35, I-610, I-635, TCEQ, Texas, trucks, TxDOT | 1 Comment

Chron story on Fair For Houston

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff. Local advocates have launched a petition drive aimed at increasing the city’s voice on the Houston-Galveston Area Council, a 13-county regional planning council that has been criticized by Houston leaders for what they consider unfair federal fund allocation. Consisting of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged Amy Peck, Election 2023, Fair For Houston, Harris County, HGAC, Houston, metropolitan planning organizations, petitions, Sallie Alcorn, Sylvester Turner, The Lege, Trey Duhon, TxDOT | Comments Off

I-45 project is back on

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Though it will still be several years before there is any real construction. Nearly two years to the day that federal officials paused TxDOT’s plans for rebuilding Interstate 45 and downtown Houston’s freeway system, national and state highway leaders have come … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Adrian Garcia, Air Alliance Houston, bicycles, Christian Menefee, construction, Federal Highway Administration, flooding, Harris County, Houston, Houston Housing Authority, I-45, LINK Houston, NOAA, Stop I-45, TxDOT | Comments Off

If not for I-45 then for something else

Posted on March 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Money for highways never goes unspent. Drivers on Houston freeways likely can relate: Facing a slowdown when it comes to rebuilding Interstate 45, state transportation leaders are shifting gears and changing lanes. Unable to significantly move ahead with the controversial … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, Federal Highway Administration, Harris County, Houston, Houston Ship Channel, I-10, I-45, I-610, Pete Buttigieg, Stop I-45, Texas, Texas Transportation Commission, TxDOT, White Oak Bayou | Comments Off

A brief 11th Street update

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the latest Woodland Heights Civic Association newsletter: 11th Street Safety Improvements: Project Update The WHCA board hosted City officials (David Fields, Lauren Grove, and Colin Lupold) at the January 10th general meeting. We had around 50 or so on … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged bicycles, bike lanes, construction, Heights, Houston, local control, pedestrians, sidewalks, TxDOT, urbanism | 2 Comments

The Pierce Skypark and the Midtown McDonald’s

Posted on January 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating. The now closed McDonald’s in Midtown isn’t the only parcel at play in the area that could – when combined with a major proposed “sky park’ – help to reshape the southern edge of downtown. The Greyhound bus station next to … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Central Houston, construction, downtown, Houston, I-45, I-610, Midtown, Pierce Skypark, Texas, TxDOT, US59 | Comments Off

More on the collegiate TikTok bans

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

An interesting perspective from a professor in Texas. The bans have come in states where governors, like Texas’s Greg Abbott, have blocked TikTok from state-issued computers and phones. Employers can generally exercise control over how employees use the equipment they … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged ByteDance, China, cybersecurity, FBI, Greg Abbott, Texas, Texas A&M, The Lege, TikTok, TSU, TxDOT, UH, University of North Texas, UT | Comments Off

UT bans TikTok on campus WiFi

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This feels like a bit of an overreaction to me, but we’ll see if others follow suit. The University of Texas at Austin has blocked access to the video-sharing app TikTok on its Wi-Fi and wired networks in response to … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math, The great state of Texas | Tagged ByteDance, China, cybersecurity, FBI, Greg Abbott, HISD, name image likeness, NCAA, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Education Agency, The Lege, TikTok, TSU, TxDOT, UH, UIL, University of North Texas, UT | 4 Comments

I-45 construction never stops

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It just keeps moving on. Though attention remains on rebuilding Interstate 45 through northern parts of Houston, state highway officials also are planning for the next round of road work. The Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled two public meetings, … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Conroe, construction, Houston, I-45, Spring, Texas, TxDOT | 2 Comments

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 →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Air Alliance Houston, BRT, construction, Federal Highway Administration, flooding, Hardy Toll Road, Harris County, Harris County Attorney, Harris County Flood Control District, Houston, I-10, I-45, Independence Heights, lawsuit, Main Street line, Metro, Sanjay Ramabhadran, sidewalks, Stop I-45, Sylvester Turner, Texas, TxDOT, US59 | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, Houston, I-10, I-45, I-610, Texas, TxDOT, Westheimer | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Adrian Garcia, Christian Menefee, Commissioners Court, construction, Federal Highway Administration, Harris County, Harris County Attorney, Houston, I-45, Independence Heights, lawsuit, Rodney Ellis, Sheila Jackson Lee, Stop I-45, Sylvester Turner, Texas, TxDOT | 4 Comments

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 →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People, Technology, science, and math | Tagged ByteDance, China, cybersecurity, Dan Patrick, FBI, Greg Abbott, Indiana, Maryland, ransomware, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, The Lege, TikTok, TxDOT | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Amtrak, Austin, College Station, Dallas, Federal Railroad Administration, Fort Worth, Houston, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, stimulus, Texas, Texas Central High-Speed Railway, Texas-Oklahoma Passenger Rail Program Corridor, TxDOT | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged accidents, bicycles, Bike Houston, crosswalks, Fort Bend County, Harris County, Houston, pedestrians, Texas, The Lege, TxDOT | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Central Houston, construction, downtown, Federal Highway Administration, Houston, I-45, Stop I-45, TxDOT | 1 Comment

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