Transportation Project Questionnaire

Operational Improvements and Congestion Management Questionnaire

Project Information

Agency Name	TxDOT Houston District
Project Title	IH 69 S Frontage Road replacement (Local Connection to Brazos River Park)
Facility/Street/Highway	IH 69 S
Limits	From East University Drive to IH 69 S
Description	Provide for a new east-west road through the U of H Sugarland campus to provide connectivity to the University and to Brazos River Park. Compensates for removal of U turn on IH 69 S which has been destroyed by erosion.
Timeframe	Short Term (0-5 Years)
Estimated Cost	$20,000,000.00

Investment Category-Focused Criteria

1. Is the project located on a facility listed on Texas 100 most congested roads list?

1b. If no, please provide the existing peak period travel time index (TTI) of the facility where proposed project is located.

1.0 – 1.25

1b-i. Provide a narrative describing the existing congestion where proposed project is located and describe narrative to explain methodology to calculate existing TTI.

Travel Time Index (TTI) is a ratio that compares peak period travel times along a corridor to average travel times, thus estimating a relative level of rush hour congestion. Current TTI for the project area is 1.00, indicating that it takes 1.00 times as long to travel this corridor in the peak period than average, which is mildly congested.

2. What is the estimated TTI after project is implemented?

1.0 – 1.25

2a. Provide a narrative describing the existing congestion where proposed project is located. Within the narrative explain the methodology and data used to calculate existing Travel Time Index (TTI).

3. Please provide a narrative to describe congestion management strategies and improvements (work types) proposed to reduce congestion on facility where the proposed project is located.

This project and new roadway will allow traffic headed southbound to the City’s Brazos River Park and Crown Festival Park shorter access to the parks, removing additional traffic from the heavily congested IH 69 S @ SH 99 intersection. This project mitigates the current and future impacts of the expanding University of Houston – Sugar Land campus and City Park and festival sites due to TxDOT’s decision to permanently close the Brazos River Turnaround in 2019. The Current traffic pattern following the closure requires drivers to U-turn at the intersection of IH 69 S and SH 99, an additional 4 miles of travel, for traffic destined for the university and park sites. With the new expansion of Festival Blvd., drivers would be able to exit at university and travel south to turn west onto Festival Blvd. at Wentworth Ave. to access the parks and university campus, improving mobility and managing congestion in the area.

4. Is the proposed project located on a facility identified as a hurricane evacuation route in any regional or local plans?

4a. If no, is the proposed project located on a facility that functions as an alternative to an evacuation route?

Yes

4a-i. If yes, explain.

This project connects to IH 69 S which is a hurricane evacuation route.

Other Investment Category Focused Criteria

1. Was the project scored under Regional Goods Movement Category?

1a. If no, please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project improves regional goods movement. Within the narrative, please include if the proposed project is designated as a critical freight corridor or a local/regional/state truck route.

The project is not located on a Critical Urban Freight Corridor. The project is not located on the TxDOT or FHWA Freight Networks. The project improves regional goods movement by adding capacity which will relieve congestion.

2. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project benefits high growth areas. Within the narrative, please explain if the proposed project improves or provides access to new residential developments, retail stores, other land uses, or if the proposed project alleviates future congestion due to potential economic development activity such as expansion of warehouses or other freight generators.

The project is not located in a high growth area. The population is projected to grow by 83.7% and jobs are projected to increase by 85.2%. Some commercial and residential land use changes announced or modeled.

3. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project improves walking and biking conditions. Within the narrative, please explain if the proposed project scope includes construction of a new or improved existing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure on a project facility or in the vicinity of the project.

Frontage roads at IH 69 S should have sidewalks/shared use paths on them and this new road. Shared use paths provide a low-stress experience for active transportation users, increasing user safety and health while improving regional connectivity. The addition of sidewalks will create transportation alternatives and allow pedestrians greater access to services and improve quality of life.

4. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project improves traffic conditions for transit services (local, express, signature, or commuter).

Fort Bend County Transit (Texas Medical Center, Greenway Plaza, and the Galleria Routes) has a nearby Park and Ride Lot at UH Sugarland Campus that could benefit from this new road which could be used as a backup route to access the P&R Lot if University Blvd is closed.

5. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project will reduce inoperability for significant periods due to infrastructure damaged by a collision with vehicles such as trucks, ships, and barges.

This project will construct a new road which will act as an alternative if IH 69 S main lanes are shut down. This will allow more space to move disabled vehicles and to better maintain flow on the facility after vehicle collisions.

6. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project will improve state of good repair and extend the service life of the project facility.

Pavement Score: Not available No HPMS condition data is currently available for this project because it is a new facility. However, the project will increase the overall number of miles of pavement in a state of good repair.

Planning Factors Criteria

1. What is the existing fatality crash rate at the project location? Regional crash data is available online on the crash data viewer. H-GAC staff will provide assistance in calculating the crash rates upon request.

2. What is the existing serious injury crash rate at the project location? Regional crash data is available online on the crash data viewer. H-GAC staff will provide assistance in calculating the crash rates upon request.

3. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project reduces expected fatality and serious injury crashes. Narrative must include specific improvements (work types) included in the project scope. Crash reduction factors associated with specific work types can be found in the safety benefits calculation template. H-GAC staff can provide assistance in gathering the crash reduction factors upon request.

Crash rates for this segment are per 100 million VMT. The fatality rate is 0, lower than the regional average (1.23), and the serious injury rate is 0, lower than the regional average, (6.18). This project will construct a new roadway which will act as an alternative if main lanes are shut down on other facilities, reducing primary and secondary crashes caused by congestion. The addition of pedestrian infrastructure will allow pedestrians to safely use the facility and reduce points of conflicts with vehicles, thus improving the overall safety of the segment. The consolidated crash reduction factor for this project is 93%, as a result of installing sidewalks (WC 407), and providing additional travel lanes (WC 517).

Resiliency

1. Please select the vulnerability to flooding score at the project location based on the Regional Resiliency tool. H-GAC staff can provide assistance with the regional resiliency tool upon request.

Low

2. Please select the criticality score at the project location based on the Regional Resiliency tool. H-GAC staff can provide assistance with the regional resiliency tool up on request.

Low

3. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project reduces vulnerability to flooding. The narrative must include specific improvements such as drainage improvements that are included in the scope.

All current projects are being designed to meet and/or exceed ATLAS-14 drainage standards.

Access/Connectivity

Please enter the household population located within a quarter mile buffer of the project location: 1a. Low-Income

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

1,114

2. Does the proposed project improve or provide new connectivity to a medical facility within a quarter mile buffer of the project location?

3. Does the proposed project improve or provide new connectivity to a school/college/university within a quarter mile buffer of the project location?

Yes

4. Does the proposed project improve or provide new connectivity to a social services facility within a quarter buffer of the project location?

Yes

Environmental Justice

Please enter household population located within quarter mile buffer of the project location. H-GAC staff can assist in gathering the data. 1a. Low-Income

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

1,114

1c. Household Population Under Poverty

1d. Disabled Persons

1e. Elderly Persons

1f. Limited English Proficiency

2. What is the average Livable Center Need Index within quarter mile buffer of the project location? H-GAC staff can assist in gathering the data.

7.10

3. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project provides benefits to vulnerable populations. Benefits include safety improvements, construction of or improvements to ped/bike facilities, or improvements to transit stops.

The area surrounding the project segment has a higher minority population (95.21%) as compared to the regional average of 65% minority. Because of its central location in the regional network, the project will produce improvements in mobility and connectivity for vulnerable populations as well as connectivity to schools, medical facilities, and social services for the regional population. Project provides new access to Brazos River Park that was cut off by the frontage road being closed due to erosion from the Brazos River.

4. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project avoids or mitigates adverse effects to vulnerable populations. A list of adverse effects was provided in detailed criteria document.

The area surrounding the project segment has a higher minority population (95.21%) as compared to the regional average of 65% minority. TxDOT’s Environmental Process is designed to ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Executive Order on Environmental Justice. Standard practice is to implement projects that provide user safety and operational efficiency while taking into account environmental quality and impacts to surrounding communities. In practice this means identifying and assessing potential project impacts, then proposing measures to avoid, minimize and/or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse effects to Environmental Justice Populations. For example, the project will improve drainage to ATLAS-14 standards, which will mitigate impacts from added capacity to vulnerable populations.

Impacts on Natural and Cultural Resources

1. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project avoids or mitigates impacts to natural (flood plains, wetlands) and cultural (historic and archeological sites) resources. H-GAC staff can provide assistance in identifying natural and cultural resources located within a quarter mile buffer of the project location.

This project is in conceptual development. If required, the appropriate Environmental Document (Categorical Exclusion, Environmental Assessment, or Environmental Impact Statement) will be conducted to identify, avoid or mitigate potential impacts to the natural or human environment.

2. Please provide Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) reductions provided by the project. H-GAC staff can provide assistance in calculating NOx and VOC reductions.
(Optional)

NOx: 0; VOC:0

Innovation

1. Does the project propose to implement new infrastructure technologies to enhance accessibility, mobility, multimodalism, resiliency, reliability, or traffic operations?

2. Does the project propose to implement new autonomous/connected vehicle technology?