Transportation Project Questionnaire

Resiliency and State of Good Repair Questionnaire

Project Information

Agency Name	TxDOT Houston District
Project Title	FM 2004 Bridge Replacement
Facility/Street/Highway	FM 2004
Limits	At Chocolate Bayou
Description	Replace existing bridge and approaches (NBI No. 12-020-0-2523-02-011) - Demolish the existing bridge and roadway approaches and replace with a new, 2-lane bridge and new bridge approaches and bring the bridge and approaches up to current standards.
Timeframe	Short Term (0-5 Years)
Estimated Cost	$75,000,000.00

Investment Category-Focused Criteria

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:

Minor Arterial

2. Please provide a narrative explaining how proposed project reduces inoperability for significant periods of time due to damaged infrastructure.

The project will replace existing bridge and approaches that are subject to storm surge events, this will provide room for traffic to navigate around crashes too while still using this important crossing, rather than rerouting to the next closest bridge. ATLAS-14 standards will be applied to this project.

3. Please provide total estimated daily users served by the proposed project. AADT for roadway project (total users=AADT*vehicle occupancy) or daily total ridership for transit project.

10,833

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

Less than 30 years

4a. What is the existing condition of the facility.

Poor

5. Does the project sponsor maintain an approved and regularly updated asset management plan?

Yes

5a. If yes, please provide a link to the existing asset management plan.

https://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/brg/tamp.pdf

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

6a. If no, is the proposed project located on a facility that functions as an alternative to an evacuation route?

Other Investment Category Focused Criteria

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

Yes

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 48.6% and jobs are projected to increase by 21.1%. No land use changes announced or modeled. There are nearby chemical plants to this project that hundreds if not thousands of workers drive to daily.

3. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project improves traffic operations. Within the narrative, please include if the proposed project includes construction of truck only lanes or managed truck only lanes, construction of an interchange, or intersection improvements.

Raising the bridge approaches and reconstructing the bridge will reduce its risk to flooding and decreasing the risk of having to shut the road down during storm events, keeping the traffic flowing and not having to reroute miles away to the next bayou crossing.

4. 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.

The project includes 10ft wide shoulders. This is an important gap filler since FM 2004 on either side of the Chocolate Bayou Road has a 10 ft signed shoulder route, except the existing bridge which currently does not have the wide shoulders. FM 2004 has a signed shoulder route with wide shoulders providing access to the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge as well as a long-distance back country route for both recreational and competitive cycling activities.

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

No existing or planned transit service is provided on this facility.

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.

The Crash rates for this segment are per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. 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 bridge improvement will add new lanes to the bridge, new bridge approaches, and bring the bridge and approaches up to current standards, reducing primary and secondary crashes. The addition of bicycle infrastructure will allow cyclists 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 160%, as a result of installing bicycle infrastructure (WC 407), bridge reconstruction and widening (WC 218), and the inclusion of 10 ft paved shoulders (WC 537).

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.

High

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.

Bridge will be reconstructed and approaches raised above Chocolate Bayou flood plain. Also will be designed to meet and/or exceed ATLAS-14 standards.

Access/Connectivity

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

1,357

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

387

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?

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

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

1,357

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

387

1c. Household Population Under Poverty

196

1d. Disabled Persons

249

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.

10.80

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 lower low-income population (8.18%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a lower minority population (31.84%) 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. According to HGAC’s Regional Resilience Tool, the project segment sits on a facility that is rated as having High vulnerability to Flooding.

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 lower low-income population (8.18%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a lower minority population (31.84%) 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 increased concrete surface area 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 currently classified as a type of action that qualifies as a “Categorical Exclusion” as it is not expected to have a significant effect on the human and natural environment. If through the NEPA environmental analysis process TxDOT determines that the proposed action does not qualify as a CE, then an Environmental Assessment (EA) would be prepared to identify, mitigate and avoid impacts to natural and cultural resources.

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?