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SH 36 Widening TxDOT 1/12/2015 1:14:00 PMProject Narrative
This is one project that is part of a 51 mile SH 36 corridor improvement project. SH 36 is on the NHS and is functionally classified as 3: principle arterial. The proposed improvements would upgrade SH 36, a designated hurricane evacuation route, to increase safety, access, and mobility for the movement of goods and people in the southern Brazoria/coastal area. The project will also serve the local transportation needs of communities and towns including: Rosenberg, Pleak, Needville, Guy, Damon, West Columbia, Brazoria, Jones Creek, and Freeport. The need for the project is based on existing and anticipated congestion, safety, operations/state of good repair, and economic conditions of the area, including: • Improved operational efficiency and safety, • Correct roadway deficiencies, hydraulics/drainage, shoulders, correcting steep side slopes, and improving bridges, • Added capacity for project population and economic growth; • Improved mobility for hurricane evacuations due to SH 36’s designation as a hurricane evacuation route; • Improved intermodal relationship with the Port of Freeport; • Current truck traffic is at 10 percent and expected to increase; • Facility is considered a freight bottleneck; • Safety concerns, in that existing roadway alignments and configurations do not meet current AASHTO standards During the Hurricane Rita (2005) evacuation event, SH 36 performed at a LOS F. With mobility being a key component for a hurricane evacuation route, improvements to the existing SH 36 facility are needed to upgrade the LOS to a level C or better during evacuation events. SH 36 serves as a major transportation route for trucks importing and exporting commercial and industrial supplies to the Port of Freeport. The Port is expected to grow both in facility size and import/export traffic. The purpose of the proposed project is to increase capacity and mobility and to improve the roadway design of the SH 36 facility. Additional travel lanes will accommodate the projected increase in traffic volumes during hurricane evacuations and projected future corridor traffic demands. Improving the existing roadway design by adding dedicated turning lanes and improving intersections will better accommodate turning movements along the corridor, thus improving safety, efficiency, and mobility in the project area for local traffic and heavy truck traffic from the Port of Freeport. The proposed roadway would consist of a four-lane divided facility with a grassy center median in rural sections and a four-lane undivided facility with a continuous center left-turn lane in urban areas. The continuous two-way, left turn lane (CTWLTL) is a noted access management improvement for facilities that carry lower volumes of traffic. The CTWLTL facilitates access management because it removes turning vehicles from the through movement, thus reducing the chance of rear end crashes. In addition, it provides safe storage for left turning vehicles into the through movement and will allow acceleration prior to merging. The proposed SH 36 corridor improvements begin with Spur 10 (Hartledge/Gerken Road), an extension of existing Spur 10 north of US 59, which extends from US 59 South along Hartledge/Gerken Road to the existing SH 36. An overpass at US 59 was constructed as part of another TxDOT project to link Spur 10 North and Spur 10 South. The improvements to SH 36 begin in Pleak, Fort Bend County, Texas at FM 2218 and extend south along SH 36 to FM 1495 in Freeport, Brazoria County, Texas. The proposed roadway for rural areas would consist generally of an open ditch section with four 12-ft lanes, two 10-ft outside shoulders, two 4-foot inside shoulders and a 68 to 81-ft depressed grassy center median. For urban areas, the roadway would generally consist of four 12-ft lanes, a 14 to 16-ft flush median (center left-turn lane) with either ditches or a curb and gutter section. The proposed project would generally follow the existing vertical and horizontal alignment except in areas where changes are required for design and safety standards or engineering/environmental constraints. Flush medians would allow for continuous left turning movements in urban areas to provide access to businesses. Turn lanes and crossovers would allow for turning movements throughout the divided rural roadway areas of SH 36. The intersections of SH 36 at FM 1301 and other side or cross-streets would remain at-grade. The proposed project would include parallel bridge structures over Varner Creek both north- and southbound. Bike accommodations will be provided. Roadway segments through the town of Brazoria and from the town of Jones Creek to the end of the project at FM 1495 would be designed within the existing ROW. In general, rural areas will have a 10-foot outside shoulder to accommodate bikes and urban sections will have sidewalks. Several alternative alignments were investigated for the SH 36 roadway improvements based on an analysis of the existing traffic conditions, forecasts of future travel demand, and projected population growth. Several conceptual alternatives were considered, including a no build alternative, using a systematic, interdisciplinary approach, which included input from the public, as well as federal, state, and local agencies. Three alternatives for the SH 36 alignment were investigated. These alternatives were evaluated along the existing alignment including an east, west, and center alignment to accommodate the roadway widening. The no-build alternative was also considered. Both design and environmental constraints were evaluated in determining the preferred alignment. The improvements outlined in this application represent the preferred alternative. The No-Build Alternative would not improve the roadway. Only routine maintenance would occur within this area, therefore, congestion would continue and safety problems may increase and evacuation would be compromised. The entire 51-mile corridor covered under one Environmental Assessment has been divided into segments for letting to construction. The project in this application is one of the segments. These segments may be further divided into phases. Frontage roads may be constructed first at overpasses to allow for uninterrupted traffic flow while the main lanes are under construction. The project represented in this application represents one stage of the total Environmental Assessment corridor.Project Narrative
Yes Environmental Assessment (EA) Please Select Yes FONSI was approved in 2008. Re-evaluation is required. IP is in progress; anticipated received by 2017. Most of the ROW will be acquired by Brazoria County. I'm putting the information here because the application doesn't allow us to discuss ROW. 06/01/2007 Yes 180 01/01/2019 No Utilities that are determined to be in conflict with the roadway widening work are required to be relocated or adjusted. Additional ROW is required for this project. Hence the affected utilities will be relocated after the proposed ROW is acquired and before construction begins. The construction of this project can be phased to allow for some minor utility relocation during construction. Utility owners are 100% responsible for the cost for utility relocation or adjustment for this segment of the SH 36 corridor unless the utility owner owns the land of their facility by fee or by easement. If such is the case, then the utility relocation or adjustment will be paid for/reimbursed by TxDOT. There are no serviceable rail facilities, other than those associated directly with the Port, which would interfere with construction of the proposed project. No Public involvement for the project, thus far, has included three rounds of public meetings and three limited public meetings. The first round of public meetings was held by TxDOT in September 1999 and consisted of two meetings, one at Needville High School and one at Brazoria Intermediate School. The second round of public meetings was held November 1, 2, and 3, 2000. Three meetings were held at Needville High School, First Baptist Church of Brazoria, and the Brazosport High School in Freeport. The purpose of these meetings was to present three proposed alternatives for the SH 36 alignment. The second Limited Public Meeting was held in February 2001 for the town of Jones Creek. The purpose of this meeting was to present alternatives for the SH 36/FM 2004 interchange just north of the town of Jones Creek as well as present several roadway design options through the town of Jones Creek. On April 18 and 19, 2001, a third round of public meetings was held to present the preferred alignment to the public. These meetings were held at the same locations as the second round of public meetings. This alignment consisted generally of widening to a four-lane divided section with a grassy center median in rural areas and a four-lane undivided section with a continuous center left-turn lane in urban areas. In June 2001, a third Limited Public Meeting was held for the town of Jones Creek to present a refined alignment of SH 36 through Jones Creek based on comments received from the April 2001 public meetings. The Environmental Assessment is 90% complete. ROW mapping is in progress. Plans for this project are 90% complete. This project consists of the reconstruction and widening of a non-freeway facility from a two-lane undivided rural, to a four-lane divided rural facility, and a four-lane undivided urban facility within the Cities of Damon and West Columbia. The design of this project was 90% completed and shelved in 2008 due to non-acquisition of the required right of way (ROW). Since the project is 90% complete, plans and standards can be updated quickly and the project can be made ready for letting if construction funds and ROW are provided for this project. Brazoria County (County) is working on a Pass-Through Finance (PTF) project with TxDOT to grade separate SH 36 over SH 35, which is currently scheduled to let before Fall 2015. Those plans are 95% complete. This PTF project is 1.151 miles in length and requires the widening of SH 36 from two to four-lane divided non-freeway facility including bridge structures over SH 35. The PFT project is within the limits of the original 14-mile SH 36 project that was shelved in 2008. Portions of the additional ROW for the original SH 36 project will be acquired by the County for this PTF project thereby reducing the ROW needed for the original SH 36 project.Map/Location
Evalutation Questions - Major Investments
Benefit/Cost Methodology
Please attach the completed BCA Excel worksheet and narrative explanation of analyses used