Transportation Project Questionnaire

Resiliency and State of Good Repair Questionnaire

Project Information

Agency Name	TxDOT Houston District
Project Title	IH 10 Inner Katy Drainage Improvements (Polo Fields)
Facility/Street/Highway	IH 10
Limits	From IH 10 south through Memorial Park (Adjacent to Polo Fields)
Description	Construct detention pond upgrades, construct outfall channel adjacent to polo fields and provide pump station upgrades.
Timeframe	Short Term (0-5 Years)
Estimated Cost	$4,200,000.00

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:

None of the Above

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

This IH 10 W drainage project is centrally located in Houston with location inside the IH 610 loop, within Memorial Park and adjacent to both IH 10. This project intends to construct detention pond and upgrade drainage equipment (e.g., pump stations) to reduce flooding risks on IH 10, a critical freeway segment for the region. These drainage improvements will not only reduce flooding but will help reduce related weather-related crashes. Overall, the project will allow for consistent operations and reduce periods of inoperability for IH 10 due to flooding, permitting people and goods to reach their destinations (e.g., jobs, medical facilities, and activity centers) without additional delays. The project will improve drainage to meet or exceed the latest ATLAS-14 standards.

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.

N/A - pump station

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

N/A

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

Good

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?

1a. If no, please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project improves regional goods movement. Within the narrative, please include if the proposed project is designated as a critical freight corridor or a local/regional/state truck route.

The project is located on the TxDOT and FHWA Freight Networks, although it is not located on a Critical Urban Freight Corridor. The project improves regional goods movement through drainage improvements and upgrades to pumping equipment which facilitate more efficient traffic flow and reduce inoperability due to flooding, permitting people and goods to reach their destinations (e.g., jobs, medical facilities, and activity centers) without additional delays. The project improves regional goods movement by drainage/pumping improvements which will facilitate more efficient traffic flow and reduce inoperability due to flooding.

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 location is in an area where the population is projected to grow by 31.2% and jobs are projected to increase by 16.7%. Businesses, corporate services, new restaurants, retail space, and multifamily housing will open next to the project off Katy Rd and Hempstead Rd.

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.

Not Applicable

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.

This project is located within Memorial Park. Memorial Park has many paths and other pedestrian and bicycle facilities that would not be impacted by this project, instead this project would build an outfall channel that could become an additional pedestrian and bicycle facility, with the possibility for the park to build paths alongside this new water feature.

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

This drainage project will benefit transit services running along the adjacent IH 10 segment, reducing flooding risks on this critical freeway segment allowing people riding transit to reach jobs, medical facilities, and activity centers. Overall increasing reliability of the transit services as flooding will be prevented. METRO transit services that will benefit from this roadway improvement project are routes 160, 161, 162, 214, 216, 217, 219, 221,222, 228, 229, and 298 and any additional routes that will not be using the METRO Inner Katy BRT parallel bridge 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.

This drainage project intends reduces flooding risks on IH 10, a critical freeway segment for the region. These drainage improvements will not only reduce flooding but will help reduce related flooding weather-related crashes. Overall, the project will allow for consistent operations and reduce periods of inoperability for IH 10 due to flooding, permitting people and goods to reach their destinations (e.g., jobs, medical facilities, and activity centers) without additional delays.

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.

Medium

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.

This project intends to construct one new detention pond, will upgrade drainage equipment (e.g., pump stations), and construct an outfall channel to Buffalo Bayou help reduce flooding to the freeway and to the neighboring businesses and homes. All projects are being designed to match 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

1,463

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

1,036

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

1,463

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

1,036

1c. Household Population Under Poverty

123

1d. Disabled Persons

146

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.

1.40

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.

This project will construct/install new storm sewer pumps, a new detention pond, and increased sized boxes/trunklines that meet and/or exceed ATLAS-14 standards, which will mitigate flooding impacts from added capacity to impacted vulnerable populations. The area surrounding the drainage project has a lower low-income population (3.08%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5% and a lower minority population (25.92%) as compared to the regional average of 65% minority. As a result of the improvement, those impacted vulnerable populations will have increased resilience in the event of hazards.

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 (3.08%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5% and a lower minority population (25.92%) 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.

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” (CE) as it is not expected to have a significant effect on human nor natural environment. If through the 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. TxDOT is committed to work with partners to ensure flooding is mitigated impacts to natural (flood plains, wetlands) and cultural (historic and archeological sites) resources in the area.

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)

N/A

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?