Transportation Project Questionnaire

Resiliency and State of Good Repair Questionnaire

Project Information

Agency Name	TxDOT Houston District
Project Title	IH 69 Rehab Pump Station at Hazard Street
Facility/Street/Highway	IH 69
Limits	At Hazard Street
Description	Rehabilitate pump station including baffles, trash collection system and control system and address concrete flatwork settling
Timeframe	Short Term (0-5 Years)
Estimated Cost	$3,342,003.00

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:

Principal Arterial or Higher Functional Class

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

This project will rehabilitate a pump station which will reduce potential flooding and subsequent weather-related incidents. This will allow for more consistent operations and reduce periods of inoperability.

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?

Less than 30

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?

Yes

6a-i. If yes, explain.

IH 69 connects directly to IH 45 which is identified as 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 not located on a Critical Urban Freight Corridor. The project is located on the TxDOT and FHWA Freight Networks. 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 is not located in a high growth area. The population is projected to grow by 15.1% and jobs are projected to increase by 16.7%. Residential growth is anticipated to the east of Greenbriar Dr., and additional commercial growth is anticipated to the north of the project, on Portsmouth St. and Hazard.

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 will improve pedestrian facilities by reducing flooding and eliminating pooling on nearby active transportation facilities, extending their useful life and making them more usable during and after rain events.

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

Drainage improvements should keep the IH 69 facility operational longer for METRO (Routes 9, 151, 152, 153, 262, 265, 269, 283, and 292) and Woodlands Transit (Sawdust Park & Ride and Research Forest Park & Ride routes) which use this route and will increase reliability of the transit service.

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.

0.535

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.

4.816

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 vehicle miles travelled. The fatality rate is 0.535, lower than the regional average (1.23), and the serious injury rate is 4.816, lower than the regional average, (6.18). This project will rehabiliate a pump station, which will reduce potential flooding and subsequent weather-related crashes. If this underpass location can remain unflooded, this traffic will continue to flow as usual and not be impeded by vehicles hydroplaning or stalling out/flooded out.

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.

Medium

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.

High

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.

The Project is to reconstruct and improve the Pump Station, no detention ponds will be constructed. 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

450

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

1177

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

450

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

1,177

1c. Household Population Under Poverty

194

1d. Disabled Persons

152

1e. Elderly Persons

198

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.

2.30

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.

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 (5.23%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a lower minority population (31.75%) 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” as it is not expected to have a significant effect on the human and 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.

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?