A number of North Houston Association representatives traveled to Austin recently to advocate for two major highway projects deemed as priorities for the north Houston region. Sen. Jon Lindsay, NHA president, addressed the Texas Transportation Commission at its August meeting regarding the Downtown Connector. He emphasized the importance of the Downtown Connector to Houston’s economic development as well as transportation needs. The proposed Connector, also known as the Hardy Toll Road Connector, will link north Houston with downtown by extending the Hardy Toll Road from Loop 610 into downtown.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) did not agree to allocate funds to the project in its 1998 Unified Transportation Plan (UTP), but TxDOT’s District Engineer Gary Trietsch, P.E., said there is strong support in Austin for the project and TxDOT’s participation. According to Trietsch in a recent letter, “There are still some questions on how TxDOT could handle our funding participation. 1 believe these questions can be resolved in the coming months.”
“It is my belief that this project will likely be approved next year,” he continues. “I believe these questions can be resolved in the coming months.”
Trietsch states he believes the project will likely be approved in 1999, and suggests that the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) begin working on the preliminary engineering/schematic and environmental for the project to demonstrate a high level of commitment at the local level. As a result of this letter, Wesley Preise, P.E., executive director of HCTRA, recently asked Harris County’s Commissioners’ Court for approval to begin engineering for the project.
This will include environmental analysis, preliminary engineering and schematics. Harris County Commissioners’ Court approved this recommendation and allowed HCTRA to enter into negotiation with NHA member Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation for these engineering services. Regarding specific alignment, the first effort will be to negotiate right of way with Union Pacific’s existing rail lines from Loop610 into the I-IO/U.S. 59 interchange, according to Paul Celauro, senior partner, Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation. The design phase should take about 18 months, and the construction stage should
also take 18 months, making the total time line for the project approximately three years. The $30 -$40 million price tag will be shared by HCTRA, TxDOT and the city of Houston. HCTRA and TxDOT will each pick up approximately 40 percent of the project, leaving the city of Houston with the remaining 20 percent (roughly).
In addition to the Downtown Connector, NH A representatives advocated for funding of the Beltway 8/U.S. 59 interchange. Chip Hamilton, president, McCord Development, spoke to the Commission on this project, which was listed as the number one priority in NHA’s Airport Mobility Document. Specifically, Hamilton advocated for the extension of the main lanes over U.S. 59 and the construction of a direct connector linking eastbound traffic from U.S. 59 to northbound traffic from the Beltway. The Houston-Galvcston Area Council (H-GAC) has committed $8 million in Congestion-Mitigation Air Quality (CM/AQ) funds to leverage the cost of the project. ‘portion would be $15 million. NHA member HNTB Corporation has been selected to do the design work on the main lanes and the interchange. Phis project was not approved in the 1998 UTP, but NHA Executive Director Catherine Wray states, “We will continue to advocate for this project at the state level. It is obvious by its ranking as our number one priority (in NHA’s Airport Mobility Document) that our membership feels this project is an important one. We will continue to advocate for our members’ interests on this and other projects.” ■
