Houston may get $113 million in transportation stimulus funds

Will also get TxDOT funding

Steve Hawley, Jan 27, 09.

The Houston region would receive an estimated $113 million directly in transportation funding if the current House economic recovery bill passes, according to an analysis by the New York City Department of Transportation. This funding, which will go directly to the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), is in addition to economic recovery funds the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will allocate to local projects. Both of these will be in addition to any normal transportation funding the state will receive in 2009.

The money is part of approximately $2.4 billion in highway funding that the state would receive if the bill becomes law. Almost 72 percent of that money would go straight to TxDOT, but the agency will be required to divide the remainder among Texas cities according to population and cede control of those funds to local Metropolitan Planning Organizations such as H-GAC. The allocation rules emulate the Surface Transportation Program (STP), through which states and cities normally receive federal highway funds.

In addition, Texas is expected to receive $337 million in transit funding, of which $298 million would go to urban transit agencies and $38 million to rural areas. Currently, there is no estimate of how much transit money Houston might receive.

H-GAC would have a say in allocating the $113 million, and TxDOT would also invest some of its money in local projects. At the request of TxDOT (pdf) and the Federal Highway Administration (pdf), H-GAC has compiled a preliminary list of possible recovery plan projects (xls). Since the proposed bill would require funds to be used quickly and for “shovel-ready” projects, H-GAC divided the projects into three categories. Phase 1 projects would begin within 90-180 days, Phase 2 projects would begin within 180 days to one year, and Phase 3 projects would begin in more than one year.

According to the list as presented to the H-GAC Transportation Policy Council on January 23, the eligible projects would consist of:

Houston’s highway and transit needs over the next two years, as identified by the regional planning organization, are almost equivalent for the recovery plan, separated by only $80 million. About three-quarters of the transit funding would be used on the METRO extensions, and most of the remainder would be spent on a commuter rail line to Galveston.

However, the House bill is still skewed heavily toward highway funding. As noted earlier, Texas is expected to receive $2.4 billion for its highways and just $300 million for its urban transit systems. The H-GAC Transportation Policy Council will discuss how to prioritize these projects over the next month. Possibilities include prioritizing by project age, type, location, and anticipated job creation.