Transportation Project Questionnaire

Major Projects Questionnaire

Project Information

Agency Name	TxDOT Houston District
Project Title	SH 225 Widening/Operational Improvements
Facility/Street/Highway	SH 225
Limits	From SL 8 to SH 146
Description	RECONSTRUCT AND WIDEN FROM 6 TO 12 LANE (ADD 2 GENERAL PURPOSE LANES AND 4 MANAGED LANES) - Safety, operational and mobility improvements to SH 225 mainlanes and frontage roads, based on results of the SH 225 PEL/IH 610 East PEL study
Timeframe	Medium Term (6-10 Years)
Estimated Cost	$200,000,000.00

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.

0.448

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.

3.765

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 0.448, lower than the regional average (1.23), and the serious injury rate is 3.765, 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. 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. In addition, the project will include safety improvements as outlined in the SH 225/IH 610 East PEL study. This project will improve frontage roads 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 within the existing Right of Way 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 providing additional travel lanes (WC 517) and providing pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure (WC 407). For SH 225 Approximately 36% of the roadway is above the statewide average crash rate for Urban Highways. The projects that result from the PEL Recommendation will improve safety by reconstructing the corridor to current design standards allowing for improved ramp configurations, increased vertical clearances, enhanced horizontal and vertical geometry (Work Codes 506 and 505, CRF 55 & 50), and wider shoulders (Work Code 536, CRF 31).

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 1.06, 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.

Level of Service (LOS) is a measure of moving vehicles and goods reliably and efficiently. LOS for the existing facilities within the PEL Study limits indicate that overall, the freeway main lanes are operating at LOS D or better during the peak hours. However, traffic operations are expected to worsen by year 2045 based on the projected 52% increase in population in the study area. It is projected that in 2045 most of SH 225 will operate at LOS E/F during the AM and PM peak hours in the westbound direction. In the eastbound direction, it is projected that SH 225 will operate primarily at LOS E/F between IH 610 E and Beltway 8. The projects that result from the PEL Recommendation indicate that by 2045, congestion throughout SH 225 will be at LOS D or better with the addition of the elevated structure (Work Code 541, CRF 30). 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.

10,390

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.

This segment of SH 225 will improve connectivity to the area by adding capacity and improving traffic flow. The majority of this corridor has refineries and chemical plants that provide thousands of jobs, not to mention the freight on the corridor that support jobs throughout the nation as well.

State of Good Repair

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

1990 (34 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 Poor condition, according to TxDOT and FHWA guidelines. The project segment contains bridges in Fair condition. The worst bridge on this project segment was built in 1990. It is rated as Fair condition overall, with a superstructure condition score of 6, substructure condition score of 6, and a deck condition score of 5. 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.

Sidewalks/shared use paths will be installed on frontage roads where right of way width will allow per the SH 225/IH 610 E PEL Study. 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.

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.

4,199

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.

5,046

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.

870

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.

772

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.

302

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.

372

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.

23.80

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.

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 (8.87%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a lower minority population (51.46%) 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. A noise analysis will be conducted on a project such as this to determine if sound walls are needed or not, if they are needed they will be constructed with this project.