Transportation Project Questionnaire

Major Projects Questionnaire

Project Information

Agency Name	TxDOT Houston District
Project Title	Hempstead Road
Facility/Street/Highway	Hempstead Road
Limits	From IH 610 to Mangum Road
Description	Reconstruct Hempstead Road and add one transit lane in each direction at grade and construct 4 elevated managed lanes
Timeframe	Medium Term (6-10 Years)
Estimated Cost	$52,427,185.00

Regional Transportation Plan Goals

1. Please provide narrative describing how the proposed project supports all goals established in the Regional Transportation Plan (2045 RTP).

According to the 2045 RTP, this project falls under H-GAC’s Manage, Maintain, and Expand strategies, which collectively directly support all five of H-GAC’s goals of improving safety, achieving/maintaining a state of good repair, moving people and goods efficiently, strengthening regional economic competitiveness, and protecting cultural and natural resources. [1] Improve Safety: This project will provide additional capacity to the roadway and reduce primary and secondary crashes caused by congestion. [2] Achieve & Maintain State of Good Repair: In a widening/reconstruction project, old pavement is removed, and new pavement is constructed, thus increasing the state of good repair. [3] Move People and Goods Reliably and Efficiently: This project will reduce congestion and reduce resulting crashes, increasing the reliability of the facility. [4] Strengthen Regional Economic Competitiveness: This project will reduce congestion and resulting crashes, increasing the truck travel time reliability of the facility, boosting regional and economic competitiveness. [5] Conserve and Protect Natural and Cultural Resources: This project will include improved drainage that meets or exceeds ATLAS 14 standards, which will benefit the natural resources abutting the facility. This project will reduce emissions caused by idling and congestion.

Regional Significance

1. Is the project a Roadway Project or a Transit Project?

Roadway

1a. For Roadway projects, this project is located on a facility functionally classified as a:

Principal Arterial or Higher Functional Class

Potential Crash Reductions

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

0

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

0

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). The reconstruction and widening of the roadway will provide additional capacity to the roadway and reduce primary and secondary crashes caused by congestion. Additional lanes will provide additional capacity to the roadway and reduce primary and secondary crashes caused by congestion. Managed lanes are vital for reducing congestion and offering drivers more reliable timeframes for getting to their destinations, adjusting lane strategies as needed to maximize roadway efficiency, and improving traffic flow on both the managed and general-purpose lanes. The addition of pedestrian infrastructure will allow cyclists and pedestrians to safely use the facility and reduce points of conflict 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).

Potential Congestion Reductions

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

No

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 1.06, indicating that it takes 1.06 times as long to travel this corridor in the peak period than average, which is mildly congested.

2. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project reduces congestion. Narrative must include specific improvements (work types) included in the project scope.

The Hempstead Road project aims to alleviate congestion by deploying comprehensive congestion management strategies, strategically adding capacity (WC 517) to meet the growing demand. In addition, consideration is given to implementation of grade-separated managed lanes, coupled with improvements to intersections and dedicated turn lanes. Elevated managed lanes would keep heavy vehicles out of main traffic flow. Furthermore, access management strategies forms is considered as well, with the overarching goal of enhancing safety and operational efficiencies throughout the corridor. This multifaceted approach underscores the project's commitment to not only meet current demands but also to manage and enhance the overall traffic dynamics along Hempstead Road. The segment will be brought up to TxDOT and FHWA safety design standards. Sidewalks (WC 407) could be added to the frontage roads of this project eventually.

Connectivity to Jobs, Medical Facilities, and Activity Centers

1. Does the proposed project improve or provide new connectivity to jobs within a 1/4 mile buffer of the project location?

Yes

1a. Please provide the number of jobs located within 1/4 mile distance of the project.

6,335

2. Does the proposed project improve or provide new connectivity to a medical facility within a 1/4 mile buffer of the project location?

No

3. Does the proposed project improve or provide new connectivity to an activity center within a 1/4 mile buffer of the project location?

Yes

4. Provide narrative describing how proposed project improves or provides new connectivity to jobs, medical facilities, and activity centers.

The Hempstead Road study corridor currently lacks direct connectors at its eastern limit, encompassing US 290 and IH 610 W, as well as at its western limit, culminating at Brittmoore Rd where it presently terminates without connectivity. One of the objectives of this project is to enhance the connectivity at both ends of the study corridor by implementing strategically designed connectors. This enhancement aims to facilitate improved connectivity to significant activity centers situated in proximity to the study corridor, including the Northwest Transit Center, West Little York Park and Ride, as well as the medical centers located along the corridor.

State of Good Repair

1. What is the age of the facility where proposed project is located?

Less than 30 years

2. What is the existing condition of the facility.

Good

3. Please explain how the project improves state of good repair and extends the service life of the facility.

No HPMS condition data is currently available for this project. However, in a widening/reconstruction project like this project, pavement is removed and new pavement is constructed, thus increasing the state of good repair and extending the service life of the facility.

Biking and Walking Conditions

1. 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 new or improve existing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure on project facility or in the vicinity of the project.

A notable challenge within the Hempstead Corridor Study corridor pertains to the absence of dedicated bicycle and pedestrian facilities. In response, the project aims to address this gap by introducing comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian amenities along the study corridor. A key focus is ensuring compliance with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements, particularly in relation to pedestrian infrastructure. Enhancements will encompass planning for sidewalks throughout the study corridor, fostering improved pedestrian safety. Additionally, the project will assess the feasibility of incorporating bicycle facilities, carefully considering various options to determine the most suitable approach for the corridor. The ultimate goal is to not only rectify the current lack of amenities but also to create a corridor that is safe, accessible, and accommodating for pedestrians and cyclists alike.

Impacts to Vulnerable Populations

1. Please enter the Low-Income household population located within 1/4 buffer of the project location. H-GAC staff can assist in gathering the data.

4,119

2. Please enter the Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities household population located within 1/4 buffer of the project location. H-GAC staff can assist in gathering the data.

5,244

3. Please enter the Household Population Under Poverty located within 1/4 buffer of the project location. H-GAC staff can assist in gathering the data.

695

4. Please enter the Disabled Persons household population located within 1/4 buffer of the project location. H-GAC staff can assist in gathering the data.

664

5. Please enter the Elderly Persons household population located within 1/4 buffer of the project location. H-GAC staff can assist in gathering the data.

380

6. Please enter the Limited English Proficiency household population located within 1/4 buffer of the project location. H-GAC staff can assist in gathering the data.

1,100

7. What is the average Livable Center Need Index within 1/4 buffer of the project location? H-GAC staff can assist in gathering the data.

33.40

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

The area surrounding the project segment has a lower low-income population (7.5%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a lower minority population (56.56%) 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. The project will improve drainage to ATLAS-14 standards, which reduce flooding events and their impact on vulnerable populations. As a result of the improvement, vulnerable populations will have increased resilience and evacuation capacity in the event of hazards. The facility serves Houston METRO routes 66 and 71 and the Northwest Transit Center. The project will increase access to and reliability of transit services for vulnerable populations, who generally rely more on these services. The region in which this project sits is scored 9.3 out of 100, according to the H-GAC Livable Centers Index. The improvement will improve the area’s Livable Index score by contributing to creating an area easily accessible by multimodal transportation opportunities.

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

The area surrounding the project segment has a lower low-income population (7.5%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a lower minority population (56.56%) 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.

Hurricane Evacuation Route

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

No

1a. If no, is the proposed project located on a facility that functions as an alternative to an evacuation route?

Yes

1a-i. If yes, explain.

Hempstead rd connects to BW 8 and runs parallel to US 290. Both routes are identified as evacuation routes.

Additional Documents

2023CFP-083 map.png

2023HGAC-CFP-RGM-LOS-Waller County-County Judge (ALL RGM TxDOT Projects).pdf