I-10 makes most congested list -again

Intown stretch a mess

David Crossley, Nov 15, 11.

Just in time for Thanksgiving travel, a new study has found that a stretch of Interstate 10 through Houston is one of the nation’s most congested highways, according to a story in the Houston Chronicle:

The study by The Weather Channel, the Texas Transportation Institute and INRIX, a provider of traffic information, found that eastbound I-10 between T.C. Jester and San Jacinto is the fourth-busiest road in the country. MORE

[Note: the $2.8 billion expansion of I-10, completed three years ago, was intended to reduce congestion.]

Comments

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

Dear TXDOT:

I am an inner city resident, concerned about inner city congestion induced by capacity improvements to inbound freeways, including proposed capacity improvements in the I-45 North Freeway corridor.

A recent study conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute, The Weather Channel, and INRIX has determined that Eastbound I-10 between T.C. Jester and San Jacinto is the fourth most congested road in the country. A synopsis of the study can be found at http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/2012-congested-roads_2011-10-26

Congestion was a rare occurrence on this inner city highway before the 2008 completion of the Katy Freeway expansion project, outside the I-610 loop. The expanded freeway now causes inner city congestion for most of the day, by disgorging thousands of vehicles per hour onto inner city roadways.

TXDOT has failed to address this issue in its recent Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Highway 290 expansion project. Although the 290 expansion project will disgorge even more vehicles per hour onto inner city roadways, its EIS concludes that ”no indirect impacts to community and public resources would be expected,” without providing any information substantiating that conclusion.

I urge TXDOT, in its North Houston study, to evaluate inner city congestion as an indirect impact to community and public resources, and to ensure that TXDOT’s transportation investments do not induce inner city congestion.

Posted on Nov 17, 11 at 8:47 pm

Page 1 of 1 pages