Harris County challenges TxDOT over Parkway

Wants agency to build it

Alex Wukman, Jan 12, 11.

The Harris County Commissioners’ Court voted to challenge the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) over reimbursement to the county for costs related to the construction of segments of the Grand Parkway, and also wants the agency to build the Parkway. The vote was a culmination of over a year’s worth of controversy over who would build the toll road. “Harris County took control of the project about 15 months ago in the belief that the Texas Department of Transportation did not have the money to build it, and that the county could come to an agreement with the state over how toll collections would be used,” reports the Houston Chronicle.

The county’s earlier decision to push for control of the Grand Parkway project was also based on concerns that the State of Texas was planning to outsource construction and operation of future toll roads to foreign corporations. However, state government has since backed away from those plans.

The commissioners’ vote returns the right to construct segments of the long-awaited Grand Parkway back to the state and will allow Harris County to focus on other projects, like the Hempstead Tollway which will run parallel to US 290 to ease congestion. At the core of the county’s challenge was the initialization cost of Segment E of the Grand Parkway which runs from I-10 to US 290, reports the Guidry News Service.

Background: Parkway could move to front burner

Comments

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) said:

The Grand Parkway is extremely dangerous for Houston. It will push the urban boundary far out into the various ecosystems around us. It will siphon money and energy away from the existing area. It will add immensely to vehicle-miles traveled and total fuel demand for the metro area.

It will cost $500 million dollars just to build the Parkway. Many many millions more will be used to build out the new infrastructure.

Houston and Texas really need to ask - where else could we spend that money and get a better return on investment?

Posted on Jan 17, 11 at 11:11 pm

Randy Scott said:

I agree with Patrick on the broad sense of urbanization. But the root cause of the need for this is the sprawling urbanization of the region. What comes first, the chicken or the egg? You have to stop the chickens from laying eggs. They are going to do it anyway, regardless if there is a hen house or not. One might say that the hen house produces more eggs and more chickens. In that I agree. Acceleration of the inevitable and migration of populations from other states and countries continues and will accelerate with this facility. We need the new freeway to reduce traffic congestion and enable better access to Houston and between outlying areas of the region. The economy of the region will be improved but the ecology of the region will be impacted. We are reducing green!

Posted on Mar 04, 11 at 9:40 am

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