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Installation of Intelligent Transportation Systems on SH 146 from West Fairmont Parkway to NASA1 in Harris County Texas Department of Transportation 1/12/2015 12:49:49 PMProject Narrative
This project will provide necessary expanded coverage of existing incident management, congestion management, and traveler information systems infrastructure for the TxDOT Houston District (TranStar) region. This improvement project will allow TranStar to move closer to achieving the goal of DISTRICT-WIDE integrated coverage. This corridor is a major hurricane evacuation route. This segment will also provide a redundant path for SH 146, Spur 330, SH 225, IH 10, NASA1 and IH 45. This project will improve real-time incident detection, responsiveness and notification; and also improve real-time traffic monitoring and reporting capabilities of recurring congestion. This project will provide a vital link for providing redundant connections This project would enhance the monitoring and traffic flow of a hurricane evacuation route. This segment will also provide a redundant path for SH 146, Spur 330, SH 225, IH 10, NASA1 and IH 45. The Port of Houston, Harris County Ship Channel Ship Channel Security, and Harris county Traffic would also benefit from the communications installed by this project. The project will involve instrumentation of a freeway, SH 146 (LaPorte Freeway), from West Fairmount Parkway to NASA Road One in Harris County. Specifically, this project will include the installation of 4.5 miles of conduit bank and 144-strand fiber trunkline (1.8 miles of conduit and fiber trunkline currently exists in this segment); including 10 closed-circuit cameras, 4 dynamic message signs, 4 radar-based vehicle sensing devices, and 4 travel time readers. This project would interconnect with NASA Road One thus creating a redundant path for SH 146, Spur 330, SH 225, IH 10, NASA1 and IH 45. Additionally, this ITS segment improvement will better serve an existing regional evacuation route and provides for fiber-optic communication redundancy. None. However, since this is an ITS infrastructure expansion versus conventional roadway capacity expansion, the inherent benefit is to gain more capacity utilization of the existing facility without any environmental impacts or requiring additional right-of-way/heavy construction.Project Narrative
Yes Categorical Exclusion (CE) (c)(21) Deployment of electronics, photonics, communications, or information processing No 02/10/2017 No Yes No Utility Adjustments will be needed. No No Public Involvement activities are needed. The project design can be at 30% complete within 30 days after notice to proceed. ITS conduit has and will be installed by road construction projects.Map/Location
Project Budget
Project Budget TIP Application300738.xlsx
Yes NoScreening Questions
Yes ITS technology deployment is typically at least 7-10 years before retrofit or total replacement is required.Evalutation Questions - ITS Projects
Benefit /Cost Methodology
H-GAC to conduct analysis based on the GIS/map project location and project scope information provided above.
Congestion Safety
Incident/Event Management
Yes; This ITS project improvement segment will be a fully-integrated extension of TxDOT’s current ITS system operated out of the region’s multi-agency housed Traffic & Emergency Management Center (Houston TranStar). ; Yes; This ITS project improvement segment is both on the National Highway System and a component on H-GAC’s CMP Network. ; Yes; This ITS project improvement segment will include the installation of 4 dynamic message signs and 4 travel time (Bluetooth) readers that provide updated traveler information on TranStar’s speed map and email alert free subscription service. This project is on a Hurricane Evacuation Route. ; No; However, through the extension of ITS instrumentation (i.e., CCTVs, RSVDs, and travel time readers) emergency vehicles can be routed more efficiently during their incident arrival and departure tripmaking. ; No; However, through the extension of ITS instrumentation (i.e., CCTVs, RSVDs, and travel time readers) mobility management for the OVERALL travel corridor will be improved.; Yes; This project will provide the communication and monitoring infrastructure foundation for the future implementation of integrated corridor management applications such as ramp metering, variable speeds, variable pricing, etc. However, immediate benefits of this project will provide for traffic condition monitoring that will enhance travel time reporting and tripmaking reliability. ;Coordination
System Migration/Expandability
Yes; The system will expand/extend the regional communications network from West Fairmount Parkway to NASA Road One for a distance of 6.3 miles along LaPorte Freeway in Harris County.; Yes; This ITS project improvement will be fully-integrated into the region’s Traffic and Emergency Operations Center (Houston TranStar). This will allow all real-time traffic and incident information to be viewed and shared among the principal transportation and emergency management agencies in Harris County (TxDOT, Harris County, City of Houston, and METRO).;Integration and Information Sharing
AND, System ties into another agency’s systems to allow for the sharing of data; All information and data captured by this ITS improvement project will be transmitted to the region’s Traffic and Emergency Management (Houston TranStar). Since all information and data will be coming into TranStar, the capability for sharing among the primary TranStar partners is inherent.; Yes; The system will provide data to Houston TranStar website, TxDOT website, Dynamic Message Signs via TranStar operators, local media outlets, and free individual subscription service for customized email alerts.; Yes; The system will collect segment speed and travel time data that can be used for mobility performance measures. Additionally, the system will assist in the real-time monitoring of incidents providing the necessary time increments to define total clearance timelines by various types of incidents to report incident clearance performance.;Asset Mgmt/Efficient Operations
Continuity Operations
Yes; This project is an important leg in the connection to southeast Harris County and Galveston County. This segment will also provide a redundant path for SH 146, Spur 330, SH 225, IH 10, NASA1 and IH 45. The Port of Houston, Harris County Ship Channel Ship Channel Security, and Harris county Traffic would also benefit from the communications installed by this project. ; Yes; This project is an important leg in the connection to southeast Harris County and Galveston County. This project extension will allow a redundant path or ring to Interstate 45 Gulf Freeway along NASA Road One, and extension northward to Interstate 10 and US 90 via SH 146. This segment will also provide a redundant path for SH 146, Spur 330, SH 225, IH 10, NASA1 and IH 45. ; Yes; This segment will provide a redundant path for SH 146, Spur 330, SH 225, IH 10, NASA1 and IH 45, thus improving system reliability. ;