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Upgrade US 59 to 6-lane freeway with frontage roads Texas Department of Transportation 1/12/2015 4:29:19 PMProject Narrative
US 59 does not meet interstate standards and as such it does not fulfill the requirements of federal law. Federal law identified sections of US 59 from Laredo thru Houston to Texarkana for inclusion on the National Highway System (NHS) as part of High Priority Corridor (HPC) 20. Federal law also identified HPC 20 roadway sections as part of the future Interstate system. Essentially, federal law authorizes that when any roadway section on HPC 20 meets the Interstate design standards and is planned to/connects to an existing Interstate system by July 2037 that roadway section shall become part of the I-69 system. To advance the development and designation of the I-69 system in Texas in response to federal law, TxDOT determined that US 59 from the Montgomery/Liberty County Line to SH 105 in Cleveland, Texas does not meet Interstate standards as it is not a controlled access facility. As a result, there is a need to improve US 59 to meet Interstate standards and federal law. In addition, there are future safety issues for the existing roadway configuration. Northbound lanes will experience PM congestion to the extent that traffic making left turn movements at the existing crossovers backs-up onto the mainlanes. This presents a potential safety issue as fast moving traffic is unexpectedly required to stop/quickly maneuver to avoid the traffic back-up thereby increasing the potential for crashes with the mixing traffic types. Crashes from vehicles crossing the high-speed traffic are also expected to increase. US 59, north of Houston, is identified as a hurricane evacuation route that can accommodate contraflow during emergency situations. A bottleneck exists in this section of US 59 as it transitions from a 6-lane facility to a four lane facility thereby hindering traffic movements and rapid exodus during evacuations. The overall purpose of this project is to develop US 59 between Fostoria Road and SH 105 to an Interstate facility that would meet Interstate design standards as established in American Association of State Highway and Transportation Official’s (AASHTO) A Policy on Design Standards-Interstate System, 5th Edition (2005) and improve the safety of the traveling public during daily travel and under emergency situations, in a manner that is sensitive to the environment. Overall, the project purpose is to serve the community by addressing access and mobility needs of the affected communities. In support of this endeavor, the Texas Transportation Commission gave approval (July 26, 2012) to designate a segment of I-69, concurrent with US 59, from the Montgomery-Liberty county line to IH 610 North in Houston, a total distance of approximately 35 miles. This approval conforms with actions taken by the Houston-Galveston Area Council, AASHTO, and FHWA, all which had also approved the designation of the segment of US 59 through the project area as I-69. After construction, the proposed improvements would extend the I-69 designation nearly 4.3 miles from Fostoria Road in Montgomery County to SH 105 in Liberty County. After construction, the process for designating this section of US 59 as a section of I-69 would be made in accordance with 23 CFR 470.111 and Appendix B to Subpart A of Part 470 – Designation of Segments of Section 332(a)(2) Corridors as Parts of the Interstate System. The AASHTO Interstate Application would be prepared and submitted to the AASHTO Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering to petition that the improved US 59 highway be designated as part of the I-69 system in Texas. Proposed Improvements to US 59 include: • The project begins at Fostoria Road and ends at SH 105 • Construction/upgrade of the existing US 59 to meet current Interstate highway standards within the proposed project area that includes the existing ROW and approximately 19 acres of additional right-of-way (ROW) needed to widen the road and for approximately 5 acres for proposed stormwater detention basin. • Construct/upgrade US 59 to be a controlled access freeway with six lanes total, three lanes for travel in each direction with median dividers and one-way frontage roads (two lanes in each direction) that include sidewalks on the outside of the frontage road and an 8-foot-wide shoulder that could be used for bicycles. • Construct intersection improvements where US 59 crosses Pin Oak Road, Morgan Cemetery Road (i.e., County Road [CR] 379), and Gladstell Road. • Plan the US 59 improvements so proposed improvements would avoid the existing cemetery located within the existing US 59 ROW. • Upgrade and widen the US 59 bridge across the East Fork of the San Jacinto River near CR 383. • Avoid and minimize impacts and mitigate if needed for anticipated environmental effects of proposed construction. • Convey and control stormwater runoff so that stormwater would be conveyed through open ditches and storm sewers to existing outfalls, and the approximate 5-acre detention basin adjacent to Fostoria Road in Montgomery County. An alternative to the proposed improvement is "no-build". However, this would not address the stated need for the project as part of improvements for Interstate Highway I-69. Considering the relatively short length of this section of highway (about 4.3 miles), staged construction is not proposed.Project Narrative
Yes Environmental Assessment (EA) Please Select Yes A USACE 404 individual permit will be required for this project. It is anticipated that the USACE permit will be acquired by August 1, 2017. 09/01/2016 Yes 25 06/01/2019 No Pipelines / utilities without a compensable interest will be required to relocate their lines at their own expense. No A public meeting for this project was held on May 14, 2013 at the Cleveland Civic Center. The schematic for the planned improvement was presented to the public in an open-house format. An opportunity for a public hearing will be afforded at a later date. The EA for this project is anticipated to provided environmental clearance in the Summer of 2015. In addition, the I 69 Advisory Committee and the I 69 Segment Two Committee, which were created by the Texas Transportation Commission in 2008 as a way to increase citizen and community input in planning for I 69 in Texas, selected this project as a priority project for all of Texas. As a result, the project the project has developed public support which will aid in its implementation with the public.Map/Location
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Benefit/Cost Methodology
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