Transportation Project Questionnaire

Major Projects Questionnaire

Project Information

Agency Name	TxDOT Houston District
Project Title	IH 10 E SAN JACINTO RIVER BRIDGE AND SS 330 INTERCHANGE RECONSTRUCTION
Facility/Street/Highway	IH 10 E
Limits	W OF MAGNOLIA ST TO W OF THOMPSON RD/SS 330 INTERCHANGE
Description	RECONSTRUCT SAN JACINTO RIVER BRIDGE AND WIDEN FROM 6 TO 11 MAIN LANES AND CONSTRUCT 4 NON-TOLLED MANAGED LANES AND SS 330 INTERCHANGE RECONSTRUCTION
Timeframe	Medium Term (6-10 Years)
Estimated Cost	$555,000,000.00

Regional Transportation Plan Goals

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

The bridge reconstruction will bring the facility into an improved state of repair. According to the 2045 RTP, this project falls under H-GAC’s Maintain strategy, which directly supports 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 include improvements to bring the segment up to TxDOT and FHWA safety standards. The improvement will also provide additional capacity to the roadway network and reduce primary and secondary crashes caused by congestion on this facility. [2] Achieve & Maintain State of Good Repair: This project will replace the existing facility with one in a state of good repair. [3] Move People and Goods Reliably and Efficiently: This project will add capacity and include improvements to reduce congestion and resulting crashes, increasing the reliability of the network. [4] Strengthen Regional Economic Competitiveness: This project will add capacity and include improvements to 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 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.

0.675

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.

2.364

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 0.675, lower than the regional average (1.23), and the serious injury rate is 2.364, lower than the regional average (6.18). This bridge improvement project will reconstruct and widen San Jacinto River Bridge, which will increase capacity and allow vehicles to avoid collisions or vehicles on the shoulder, and improve safety by reducing primary and secondary crashes due to congestion and by bringing the facility up to TxDOT and FHWA safety standards. 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 providing additional travel lanes (WC 517) and providing pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure (WC 407).

Potential Congestion Reductions

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.

1.25 – 1.50

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 1.30, indicating that it takes 1.30 times as long to travel this corridor in the peak period than average, which is moderately 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.

This project will RECONSTRUCT SAN JACINTO RIVER BRIDGE AND WIDEN FROM 6 TO 11 MAIN LANES AND CONSTRUCT 4 NON-TOLLED MANAGED LANES AND SS 330 INTERCHANGE RECONSTRUCTION to address traffic congestion (example of ExxonMobil employees leaving Baytown Refinery every afternoon) and improve air quality. Raising the bridge will aid in barge traffic underneath as well. The segment will be brought up to TxDOT and FHWA safety design standards.

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.

1548

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

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 project will improve resiliency of IH 10 E by raising the bridge and building larger protection dolphins. This project connects East Houston to Baytown and the nearby (outside the 1/4-mile buffer) Exxon Refinery that employs around 10,000 workers. Downtown Baytown is directly down SS 330. The project will also construct managed lanes which will help improve on-time reliability of the METRO Route 237 Baytown Park and Ride Route. Frontage road reconstruction will improve accessibility to newly constructed warehouses/logistic centers off of Thompson Road.

State of Good Repair

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

53 years (16 years since rehabilitation)

2. What is the existing condition of the facility.

Fair

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

Segments of the project have pavement in Fair condition, according to FHWA guidelines. This segment contains bridges in Fair condition, according to FHWA guidelines. The worst bridge on this project segment was built in 1971 and last rehabilitated in 2008. It is rated as being in Fair condition overall, with a superstructure condition score of 6, substructure condition score of 5, and a deck condition score of 6. 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.

Reconstructing the roadways to current standards could provide an opportunity to design continuous frontage roads to promote pedestrian/bicycle connectivity and widen sidewalks to accommodate shared use path facilities where appropriate. Sidewalks and ADA ramps are being constructed around the Crosby-Lynchburg Rd/Independence Pkwy interchange per the May 1, 2023 schematic. Frontage roads should have sidewalks/shared use paths on them per the IH 10 E PEL Study if right of way width allows. These facilities will provide a low-stress experience for active transportation users, increasing user safety and health while improving regional connectivity.

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.

4,931

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.

6,480

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.

1,544

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.

839

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.

255

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.

877

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.

39.00

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 higher low-income population (17.34%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a higher minority population (72.78%) 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. There is 1 EPA Superfund site located just north of IH 10 E that is being mitigated by the EPA, extensive coordination between EPA and TxDOT is required. TxDOT is improving access by reconstructing the frontage road to the site with this IH 10 E project where the current access road is gravel. Sidewalks and ADA ramps are being constructed at the Crosby-Lynchburg Rd intersection/interchange below IH 10 East.

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 higher low-income population (17.34%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a higher minority population (72.78%) as compared to the regional average of 65% minority. There is 1 EPA Superfund site located just north of IH 10 E that is being mitigated by the EPA, extensive coordination between EPA and TxDOT is required. TxDOT is improving access by reconstructing the frontage road to the site with this IH 10 E project, the current access road is gravel. 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.