Transportation Project Questionnaire

Major Projects Questionnaire

Project Information

Agency Name	TxDOT Houston District
Project Title	IH 45 N Improvements based on IH 45 N PEL Study
Facility/Street/Highway	IH 45 N
Limits	From SH 242 to LP 336
Description	RECONSTRUCT AND WIDEN FROM 8 TO 12 LANE (ADD 4 MANAGED LANES) - Safety, operational and mobility improvements to IH 45 N mainlanes and frontage roads, based on results of the IH 45 North Freeway PEL study
Timeframe	Medium Term (6-10 Years)
Estimated Cost	$70,000,000.00

Regional Transportation Plan Goals

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

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, 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.

0.585

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.

2.632

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 0.585, lower than the regional average (1.23), and the serious injury rate is 2.632, 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. The addition of pedestrian infrastructure will allow pedestrians to safely use the facility and reduce points of conflict with vehicles, thus improving the overall safety of the segment. In addition, the project will include safety improvements as outlined in the IH 45 North Freeway PEL study. 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 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?

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 1.01, indicating that it takes 1.01 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 recommended alternatives include constructing 4 elevated managed lanes along the I-45N corridor. Access to the managed lanes would be provided through slip ramps from the mainlanes and/or frontage roads, multimodal hubs, or a combination of slip ramps and multimodal hubs. Access would be limited to 5 or 6 locations along the 24-mile corridor. Limited access will provide better operations and improve safety by reducing the number of conflict points and merging traffic. The traffic analysis looked at four different criteria to determine how the recommended alternatives would improve mobility and reduce congestion along the corridor. The four criteria include: travel time in minutes, level of service, travel time reliability index, and daily person trips. The recommended alternatives also include improvements that will improve traffic operations along the frontage roads. An operational analysis was completed at 17 frontage road intersections along the corridor and each intersection is expected to operate at LOS F in the year 2045. There are 3 frontage road intersections from SH 242 to Loop 336S with recommended improvements that are expected to improve traffic operations to LOS D or better. They are: FM 1488: convert to diverging diamond interchange, Crighton Road: Add through lanes and turn lanes, and Loop 336 S: Add turn lanes and add through lane on northbound frontage road. 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.

7976

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

Yes

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.

This segment of IH 45 N will be getting reconstructed and added capacity (additional managed lanes as well) to address congestion. This corridor connects Conroe to The Woodlands/Shenandoah area and a few heavy commercial/retail areas (including The Woodlands Mall and Office Park Complex around it), and the Old Camp Strake commercial development at the corner of SL 336 S and IH 45 N that provide thousands of jobs. Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital and St. Luke's Health - The Woodlands Hospital for a grand total of 2 hospitals are along this IH 45 N corridor.

State of Good Repair

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

Pavement less than 30 years, Bridges less than 50 years

2. What is the existing condition of the facility.

Poor

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 Poor condition, according to TxDOT and FHWA guidelines. This segment contains bridges in Fair condition, according to FHWA guidelines. The worst bridge on this project segment was built in 1991. It is rated as being in Fair condition overall, with a superstructure condition score of 5, substructure condition score of 6, 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.

The I-45N corridor has a number of existing bicycle and pedestrian facilities throughout the study area. While many facilities currently exist, most of the bikeway facilities are disconnected and fail to provide an integrated network for bicycle and pedestrian travel within the study area. This is especially the case surrounding the I 45N corridor as very few designated facilities provide access across I-45N. Bikeways largely exist only on the fringes of the study area. The recommended alternatives include a continuous shared use path along both the northbound and southbound frontage roads. The continuous shared use paths will provide bicyclists and pedestrians a safe place to travel away from traffic. I-45N creates a barrier with limited east-west bicycle and pedestrian crossings. Full reconstruction of the frontage road intersections at FM 1488 provides the opportunity to add bicycle and pedestrian accommodations along the east-west cross streets. The recommended alternatives include planned bicycle and pedestrian improvements consistent with the H-GAC Active Transportation Plan and Montgomery County Precinct 2 Mobility Study. This includes bicycle and pedestrian improvements along FM 1488. The bicycle and pedestrian improvements will be updated as needed through the environmental review process and design based on stakeholder input and to be consistent with updated Harris and Montgomery plans.

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.

7,713

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.

11,719

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.

4277

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.

2681

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.

2582

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.

1512

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.

28.6

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 (10.57%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a lower minority population (46.69%) 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. As a result of the improvement, vulnerable populations will have increased resilience and evacuation capacity in the event of hazards. IH 45 N is an evacuation route/runs parallel to an evacuation route/connect to an evacuation route]. The project will improve drainage to ATLAS-14 standards, which reduce flooding events and their impact on vulnerable populations. The project will increase access to and reliability of transit services for vulnerable populations, who generally rely more on these services.

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 (10.57%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a lower minority population (46.69%) 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.