713-627-3200
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Who is Completing the Application?
Please provide contact information for the person who will complete the online application for this project. The email address and password entered here will be used to complete and submit both Pre-Applications and Applications.
Evan Shields
Project Engineer
713-462-3242
Primary Agency Information
Please provide contact information for the agency official who is representing the project sponsor. This individual will be considered the official applicant and must be authorized by their agency to submit this request for funding and make necessary assertations and representations on the agency’s behalf.
Harris County Engineering Department
Benjamin Theodore
R&B-CIP Project Manager
713-274-3675
1001 Preston, 7th Floor
Houston
TX
77002
Additional Agency Information
Project Information
Sheldon Road Reconstruction
Harris County
Sheldon Road
Market Street to Jacintoport Boulevard
Sheldon Road from Jacintoport Boulevard to Market Street is approximately 1.6 miles long located some 15 miles east of Downtown Houston, Texas in east Harris County precinct 2. The existing roadway is a two-lane undivided, 24-ft wide concrete with asphalt overlaid road with open ditch drainage constructed within 100-ft right-of-way (ROW). There is a 210-ft long by 42-ft wide 3 span bridge structure over Carpenters Bayou (HCFCD Unit No. N100-00-00) within the project limits. The H-GAC’s Regional Goods Movement Plan lists Sheldon Road as an intermodal connector serving the Port of Houston and the Houston Ship Channel. Houston Ship Channel activity accounts for 16% of the states GDP, therefore efficient infrastructure within the corridor will help the movement of goods and benefit the entire states’ economy. The Economic Alliance committee has included Sheldon Road to a list of projects that will alleviate bottlenecks, add capacity, and increase efficiency in freight movement, subsequently benefiting commuter traffic and air quality. The existing roadway has been designated a level 1 truck route and, as such, both legal and oversize/overweight (OS/OW) trucks are encouraged to utilize the corridor causing the route to be labeled a truck corridor critical to the Jacinto Port cargo transport, the existing oil & gas industries in the area, and the overall regional connectivity. Additionally, the Texas Freight Mobility Plan lists Sheldon Road improvements as medium priority for freight investments and planning activities with safety, mobility, and reliability as the most important goal areas to be improved upon. The 2017 Texas Freight Mobility Plan focuses on the needs of the state’s freight industry and businesses and also ensures a comprehensive approach for facilitating the efficient and safe movement of people and freight while meeting new federal requirements. The average daily traffic (ADT) volume and related traffic movements on Sheldon Road between Market Street and Jacintoport Boulevard have been increasing and will continue to increase as a result of growth of Jacintoport stemming from the current and future Houston Ship Channel expansion plans in addition to the industrial and commercial developments along the Sheldon Road corridor. The increased truck traffic volume, deterioration of existing pavement and drainage infrastructure, unsafe conflicting truck ingress and egress onto industrial developments, lack of capacity due to inadequacy of the existing roadway width, and the existing lane configuration have adversely impacted the public safety and mobility for the road users along Sheldon Road corridor. Since June of 2013 this segment of Sheldon Road has experienced 23 vehicular traffic crashes. Due to current roadway condition and anticipated development Sheldon Road will require additional capacity and safety enhancements in order to continue as an economically viable transportation route from Market Street to Jacintoport boulevard.
The proposed Sheldon Road improvements will involve the construction of approximately 9400 LF (1.78 MI) of five-lane divided concrete pavement (68-ft face-to-face) with a continuous two-way left turn lane within an existing 100-ft right-of-way (ROW) envelope from Market Street to Jacintoport Boulevard. The project will also include the widening the existing Sheldon Road bridge over Carpenter’s Bayou to accommodate the proposed typical section. This bridge was constructed in the late 1970’s and was recently inspected in September 28, 2017 through Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) bridge inspection protocol BRINSAP report. The bridge received a BRINSAP sufficiency rating of 89.2; which indicates the bridge is in good condition but in need of minor maintenance. The bridge will be symmetrically widened as the existing structure is in good condition and can be retrofitted to match the proposed roadway typical section thus; providing substantial cost savings and can remain in operation during the construction. This will also reduce unnecessary congestion and delays caused by rerouting the truck traffic to use Jacintoport to IH-10 as a detour. Additionally, the project will encompass the reconstruction of approximately 600 LF and 1250 LF of the eastern and western Market Street approaches, respectively. Market Street will remain a two-lane undivided asphalt roadway with open ditches. Due to the high volume of heavy OS/OW truck traffic, the proposed Sheldon Road pavement structure will be designed to withstand increased truck traffic with heavy loadings. Based on experience on similar projects, the expected pavement structure will include but not be limited to; 12” continuously reinforced concrete pavement, 1” asphaltic concrete bond breaker, 6” cement stabilized sand, and 6” lime stabilized subgrade of in-situ soil. The proposed curb and gutter roadway will feature 14-ft + 1-ft shared use outside travel lanes to accommodate vehicular and bicycle traffic, 12-ft inside travel lanes, and a 14-ft two-way left turn lane. Additionally, 6-ft continuous ADA compliant sidewalks will be placed along the back of curb to provide a safer path for pedestrian traffic. Drainage will encompass a combination of storm sewer system and shallow swales to drain offsite areas via intermittent catch basins. The primary outfall of this project is Carpenter’s Bayou. Based on discussions with Harris County Flood Control District, it was determined that storm water detention will not be required as Carpenter’s Bayou is tidally influenced thus additional property acquisition will not be needed which translate to cost savings for the overall project.
The primary outcomes to be achieved by the proposed improvements to Sheldon Road include but are not limited to the following: • Improving roadway safety and added vehicular capacity will be achieved by widening and expanding existing roadway foot print from two-lane undivided with open ditches to a five-lane curb and gutter section having 2 travel lanes in each direction and a continuous centered two-way left turn lane (TWLTL). The added northbound and southbound lanes reduce the number and types of movement conflicts, thereby improving the much-needed added capacity effectively while improving the safety of the corridor. This will be an increasingly important aspect of the improvement to serve as port related and other truck traffic continue to increase within the project limits. • The addition of a two-way left turn lane will allow left turns from either direction to use the same lane, removing left turning vehicles from the through lane. The use of a TWLTL will also reduce corridor travel times, reduce crash rates, reduce vehicles speeds, and improve the traffic flow which contributes to the roadway efficiency. • The Sheldon Road improvements will also improve freight movement and delivery schedules leading to a reduction of emissions and fuel consumption of vehicular traffic which comprised of mostly diesel powered heavy trucks. • Converting the existing deteriorating roadway with open ditches to concrete curb and gutter with storm sewer drainage will reduce erosion of the ditch banks as well as reduce the maintenance costs associated with regrading the ditches and storm water conveyance. • The widening of Sheldon Road will provide safer ingress and egress to businesses along both Jacintoport Boulevard and Peninsula Street. Both roadways serve as intermodal connectors that facilitate important freight movements to and from mainline transportation networks such as the Port of Houston and the Port Terminal Railway Association (PTRA), which connects rail industries along the Houston Ship Channel with the national freight rail system. Harris County is committed to improving the Houston Port Region and has already invested in both the reconstruction and expansion of Jacintoport Boulevard and Peninsula Street and will continue to invest in the betterment of arteries such as Sheldon Road. Jacintoport Boulevard was recently reconstructed after it was selected through H-GAC’s 2013-2016 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) call for projects. Harris County has also invested in the reconstruction of Peninsula Street. With a construction costs of $9,470,500 the reconstruction of Peninsula St will bring paving and drainage improvements to the Jacintoport Complex.
I Don't Know
No
Less than $100 million
(Expand) Roadway Added Capacity/New Construction/Complete Streets
12450203
Project Development/Readiness
Not Started
Categorical Exclusion (CE)
04/01/2020
Open Ended D List
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
10/01/2020
10/01/2020
07/01/2021
1
0
Yes
30%
No
12/01/2021
No
Sheldon_Schedule 10-11-2018.pdf
• Two preliminary schematics have been created showcasing the project's typical section with and without pedestrian amenities. • Utility Coordination has begun with AT&T, Harris County Fresh Water Supply District No. 6 and several gas pipelines along the project corridor to prevent conflicts with the proposed design. • Coordination with Megan Campbell of TxDOT was initiated to develop the project develop timeline into a schedule that would work for both TxDOT and Harris County. • Total construction cost for the project is estimated to be $16,600,270.34. Harris County has requested federal funds amounting to 75% of the total construction cost ($12,450,202.76). Harris County will contribute $8,380,046.59 accounting for 100% of the cost of planning/environmental, design, property/ROW acquisition and utility relocation and 25% of the total construction cost ($4,150,067.59). • The majority of businesses located on and in adjacent roadways to Sheldon Road have expressed their support and welcome the proposed roadway improvements. To name a few, the Houston Fuel Oil Terminal, Petromax Refining Co. and Harsco Industrial are a few major industrial facilities along Sheldon Road who support the added capacity and safety improvements along Sheldon Road from Market Street to Jacintoport Boulevard. Sheldon Road also serves as a primary connector to Jacintoport Boulevard and Peninsula Street which directly serve the Port of Houston facilities and the Port Terminal Railway Association (PTRA) which is integral in functionality and viability of the Jacintoport Complex.
Map/Location
Benefit/Cost Analysis
Roadway-Safety-Benefits-Template.zip
Roadway-Emissions-Benefits-Template.xlsx
Sheldon Road Traffic Counts.xls
Sheldon Rd Harris County Model Request.xlsx
24-hour traffic counts for Sheldon Road were taken near both project termini to more accurately reflect the average daily traffic (ADT) to be used for the existing and projected 2025 and 2045 respectively. It is important to note that the 24-hour count with the greater volume was used to determine the ADT for the roadway. Due to the road experiencing heavy truck traffic (approximately 30%) a truck factor of 2 (per the latest edition of the HCM) was applied to HALF of the trucks registered in the counts. The model provided by the H-GAC included the ADT and 24-HR Peak Period Volumes for 2018, 2025, and 2045. The 2018 ADT provided by the H-GAC was lower in comparison with the most recent 2018 ADT volumes collected in October (5427 vs 7219). In order to provide adjusted numbers for the projected ADT and Peak Period Volumes, the actual 2018 ADT was divided by the H-GAC's 2018 ADT to achieve an adjustment factor. The H-GAC projected ADT and PPVs were then multiplied by that factor to obtain the adjusted projected ADT and PPVs for 2025 and 2045 accordingly (See "Sheldon Road Traffic Counts" attachment).
Planning Factors - Connectivity to Employment/Eliminates At-Grade Railroad Crossings
Yes
1 - 500 Jobs
No
Planning Factors - Environmental Justice
No
Planning Factors - Improves Corridor Level of Travel Time Reliability (LOTTR)
0.11 - 0.20
Planning Factors - Improves Multimodal LOS
Yes
No
Yes
The existing Sheldon Road is a two-lane undivided, 32-ft wide asphalt overlaid concrete with open ditch drainage and features no pedestrian amenities. The proposed project will widen Sheldon Road to five lanes, 2 travel lanes in each direction with a continuous two-way center turn lane. In doing so, the capacity for the roadway will more than double and tremendously improves the multimodal LOS. The outside lanes will be 15-ft wide to accommodate for both motorist and bicyclist. Additionally, 6-ft wide continuous ADA compliant sidewalks will be installed along the roadway borders for entire length of the project to provide safe pedestrian facility.
Planning Factors - Planning Coordination
Yes
Sheldon Road is a part of the H-GAC Regional Goods Movement Plan, Texas Freight Mobility Plan, and the Economic Alliance List of Projects.
https://www.h-gac.com/taq/freight-planning/documents/HGAC-regional-goods-movement-plan-12-05-13.pdf; https://www.dot.state.tx.us/move-texas-freight/studies/freight-plan.htm; https://www.h-gac.com/taq/transportation-committees/TPC/2017/04-apr/documents/ITEM-08-Transportation-Priorities-in-Houston-Ports-Region.pdf
Planning Factors - Roadway Hierarchy/Freight System Priority/Evacuation Route
Principal Arterial
Yes
Yes
No
No