Transportation Project Questionnaire

Resiliency and State of Good Repair Questionnaire

Project Information

Agency Name	City of Houston
Project Title	Dairy Ashford
Facility/Street/Highway	Dairy Ashford Rd.
Limits	From Briar Forest Dr. to Memorial Dr. Intersection improvements at Briar Patch Dr. & Briar Forest Dr.
Description	Improvements include Reconstruction of the roadway while maintaining existing number of lanes along Dairy Ashford and with 6-foot sidewalks, new bridges over Buffalo Bayou, and drainage improvements to convey the runoff from the project area and meet COH design requirements. Improvements also include intersection improvements as well as installation of new pedestrian crosswalks at 3 locations.
Timeframe	Short Term (0-5 Years)
Estimated Cost	$36,336,900.00

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.

Dairy Ashford Road is an important north-south major thoroughfare within the west side of the City of Houston, Harris County, that provides regional access from Sugar Land through the Energy Corridor in Houston. The project segment is approximately 1.12 miles long stretching from Briar Forest Drive to Memorial Drive. This segment is primarily two-lanes in each direction, supporting access to commercial destinations, area schools, corporate offices, single and multi-family homes, access to and a bridge across the Buffalo Bayou and Terry Hershey regional trail, and access to Interstate IH-10. This portion of Diary Ashford is also a transit route serving bus route 26. This project corridor is within the 100-year floodplain and experienced significant flooding during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and multiple locations along the corridor continue to flood during heavy rainstorms as well as create significant ponding within the corridor itself (per historic 311 calls to the City). The aging corridor pavement condition is poor to fair with significant cracks in the pavement, poor drainage, faded or no striping in areas, and potholes that have been filled (or fixed with panel replacements in some areas). The bridge over Buffalo Bayou is outdated, narrow, and needs to be raised to handle the confluence of potential flood waters more efficiently and up to the 500-year floodplain standards. The corridor has an average of 34,020 cars per day with a posted speed limit of 35 (where 45.5 is the 85th percentile speed) and has signalized intersections at Briar Forest and Memorial Drive where there have been a significant number of crashes in the last five years. A full corridor reconstruction with drainage updates, pavement and safety enhancements, wider sidewalks, and bridge improvements are elements of this project that will support operability and safety not only for day-to-day access to jobs, homes, schools, etc. but especially in times of heavy rainfall. The brides over Buffalo Bayou cross over Quail Trail along the north bank (paved trail) and the Anthills Dirt Trail along the south bank – all of which is a part of Terry Hershey park. Through a Bridge Study done by the City in 2019, the two bridges are recommended for full replacement as it would ensure a 50-year lifespan and offer a higher ease of constructability and a lower cost than a repair and widening project. The new bridges will include a third lane while reducing the number of bents and columns from the current configuration. The new bridges would be elevated above the 500-year water surface elevation, providing updated, safer, and a more resilient bridge over the Buffalo Bayou. The bridge reconstruction will improve the overall operability of this corridor particularly during major flooding events. This north-south corridor is a critical spine leading to the IH-10 hurricane evacuation route. According to the Design Concept Report (DCR) completed in 2023 for this project, the proposed storm sewer network improvements will minimize 2-year ponding along the corridor to designated areas where Buffalo Bayou and detention exist. The proposed storm sewer improvements will reduce 100-year ponding along the corridor to mostly lie within the Dairy Ashford corridor, reducing flooding into most neighborhood streets. Corridor existing conditions for traffic, crashes, and drainage can be found in the Dairy Ashford DCR pdf that is attached to this project submittal, along with the appendices that provide more details and analysis.

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.

34,020 AADT

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

The Dairy Ashford corridor has not been redone/rebuilt in over thirty years, according to historic aerial imagery. An overlay was placed in the early 2010s, but no major roadway/mobility improvement work has been done otherwise. The two bridges over Buffalo Bayou (northbound and southbound Dairy Ashford) were constructed between 1977 and 1978.

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.

The City of Houston’s Capital Projects & Assets Management sections within Public Works are responsible for capital projects and accounting of all fixed assets for the department. The Asset Management Section is responsible for the accounting of all constructed and purchased fixed assets for the department, more than $16 billion in asset value. The section maintains and annually provides detailed information and schedules to the City’s Risk Management Group for insurance purposes. Annual inventory is a key component to ensuring safeguarding of the City’s assets. The City of Houston is well positioned to incorporate all future construction projects into the asset management process and inventory to ensure that capital expenditures are maintained and accounted for appropriately. Please see the following attachments for additional support: Infrastructure Asset Management Policy, Pavement Management 24.4-24.5, & SWMB Asset Management Plan - 12.15.21. Please see additional documents.

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.

Dairy Ashford is a direct major thoroughfare that feeds directly into IH-10 and US-90, designated hurricane evacuation routes. Dairy Ashford is also a key north-south major thoroughfare that connects IH-69 (a major interstate serving the area) north to IH-10/US-90, for hurricane evacuation. The current condition of the bridges over Buffalo Bayou are insufficient elevation that present a high risk for inundation in a flood event, cutting off critical north-south access to the evacuation route and major highway. The improvements that will be made to the bridges will allow for more efficient flow of water under the elevated bridges, allowing the traffic flow to be uninterrupted.

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 proposed Dairy Ashford project will have an improved bridge across Buffalo Bayou, and can facilitate safer north-south local and/or regional freight that can provide safe access to Interstate IH-10 (state and national freight route) during heavy rain or flooding events. As a two-way major thoroughfare, this corridor provides direct access to IH-10 from Westheimer to the highway. On 11/29/2023, City Council approved an amendment to Chapter 33 of the City Code of Ordinances to authorize the Planning and Development Department to establish a Citywide Truck Route Plan. This plan will identify/designate key corridors to support regional truck freight movement. As the plan is still in development, Dairy Ashford regardless of the plan, provides critical movements towards IH-10, a regional, state, and national corridor for freight and other traffic.

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 study corridor serves a variety of residential, commercial, mixed-use, and recreational land uses. Residential multi-family and single-family homes comprise around 37% of the land within a ¼ mile buffer of the corridor. Park and open space is around 32% while commercial space makes up around 15% of the nearby land use. There are multiple schools in the vicinity, with government, medical, and education land uses making up about 8%. Prominent attractions and land use features proximate to the study corridor include Stratford High School north of Memorial Dr and Terry Hershey bike trail along Buffalo Bayou. The project proposes to improve access management along the study corridor by construction of raised medians (closing existing median openings), providing directional left-turn lanes, and additional left-turn lanes. Future developments on or around the study area include a proposed nursing school, grocery store, and two affordable housing projects, one of which is for older adults. These proposed changes will support existing and future developments and provide safe access for residents accessing schools, work, businesses, or home.

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.

The current Dairy Ashford corridor is in poor condition and is in need of a full reconstruction to maintain and enhance traffic operations. Improvements will include overall pavement reconstruction/improvements, striping, drainage, access management, and intersection enhancements. Currently, the pavement and striping conditions are fair to poor, pavement cracks were observed along the corridor, and driver discomfort was observed for most of the corridor due to an uneven roadway profile. Overall traffic operations will improve with the access management strategies to construct raised medians (closing existing median openings), providing directional left-turn lanes, and additional left-turn lanes. Traffic operations analysis indicates that intersection improvements along the project corridor would improve the LOS or delay at corridor intersections. Intersection improvements at Briar Patch Drive propose adding an eastbound left-turn lane with a protected-permissive left-turn phasing and adding left-turn lanes on the northbound and southbound approaches at Briar Forest Drive, a crash hotspot along the corridor. Installing pedestrian pushbuttons and signal heads for crossing the northbound approach will be included for Dairy Ashford at Briar Patch/Ashford Pkwy as well as pedestrian signal heads at Briar Forest Drive. These improvements will reduce conflict points and enhance safety.

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 walking conditions along the corridor will improve greatly with the Dairy Ashford project enhancements. The current sidewalk conditions are poor (narrow, uneven, unsafe) and/or missing in a few areas. In addition, pedestrian pushbuttons, along multiple intersections, are also missing which makes crossing at the intersection unsafe. During the City’s DCR process to identify the needed improvements to Diary Ashford, historical crash data was pulled and analyzed. Within the 5-year analysis of FY 2015-FY 2019, one pedestrian was killed along the corridor. The study area’s adjacency to the Terry Hershey Park and Hike & Bike Trail provides greater urgency to implement project recommendations, as pedestrians and bike riders may use the corridor to access the trail along the Bayou. Proposed walking-related improvements: existing sidewalks will be reconstructed to six feet and a new 6-feet wide sidewalk will be installed north of River Forest Dr., where sidewalks currently do not exist. Furthermore, three pedestrian crosswalks are proposed: between Carolcrest Dr. (N) and Carolcrest Dr. (S), south of River Forest Dr., and at the Buffalo Bayou trail (mid-block crossing). New crosswalk will be implemented with locations that were determined based on proximity to existing crosswalks, bus stop locations, and locations where pedestrians are expected to cross the road such as trail crossings. Median refuges along Dairy Ashford Road and pedestrian pushbuttons at Briar Patch Dr. are also improvements that will occur. Dairy Ashford Road is designated as a dedicated on-street bike facility in the City of Houston’s long-term vision. However, Dairy Ashford Road is classified as a major thoroughfare in Houston MTFP and given its high speed limit of 35 mph (85th percentile speeds at 45.5 mph), adding on-street bike lanes is not in concurrance with city IDM standards. However, an alternative north-south opportunity for bikeways should be explored. Memorial Drive and Briar Forest Drive are other major thoroughfares within the study area and also identified in the Houston Bike Plan as bikeways corridors. Memorial Drive is a programmed bikeway and Briar Forest Drive is designated as a long-term vision bikeway.

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

The Dairy Ashford project will not only support corridor/roadway enhancements for people driving and walking, it will also provide a safer, more comfortable ride along METRO’s local route 67. The 67 traverses up and down Dairy Ashford with stop locations that serve the local commercial (grocery, pharmacy, and restaurants), local schools and facilities, the Terry Hershey Trail, and multiple single-family and multi-family neighborhoods. The sidewalk improvements alone will add great value to people utilizing the bus to get to and from their destinations, by providing a more comfortable and safer environment. Just this month (January 2024), METRO has updated the service for the 67 to extend beyond its former terminus at St. Mary’s Lane (just south of IH-10), to a new terminus at the Addicks Park and Ride (future TOD site and current location of regional bus routes). The current pavement along Dairy Ashford in this location is extremely poor, bumpy, and uneven in places, making the bus ride quite uncomfortable. With the improvements to the overall corridor pavement, access, and sidewalks, the overall transit experience will also benefit from these changes.

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.

No crashes within the requested window for analysis, however one fatality occurred in 2017 at the intersection of Briar Forest Dr. and Dairy Ashford Rd.

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.

0.088 crashes per million VMT

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.

In the years used for the crash analysis (2018-2022 and can see a simple crash heat map in attached documentation), a total of 258 crashes occurred on this stretch of Dairy Ashford from Memorial Drive to Briar Forest Drive. The types of crashes include: 6 suspected serious injuries; 22 non-serious injuries; 47 possible injuries; 182 not injured; and 1 unknown. There were no fatalities within this specific five-year window for analysis. The types of injuries vary from speeding, distracted driving, failure to yield, etc. Intersection-related crashes made up nearly 50% of the crashes recorded in this timeframe. The improvements proposed along this corridor will hopefully prevent fatalities and serious injuries by enhancing a few key safety improvements at intersections and along the corridor, and will include some access management. In the crash reduction factors associated with work types (per TxDOT and H-GAC), this project will: improve traffic signals (work code 108 with a crash reduction factor of 24%); improve pedestrian signals (work code 131 with a 10% reduction factor); resurfacing (work code 303 with a 30% reduction factor); install pavement markings (work code 401 with a 20% reduction factor); install pedestrian crosswalk(s) (work code 403 with a 10% reduction factor); install sidewalks (work code 407 with a 65% reduction factor); and add left turn lane(s) (work code 519 with a 25% reduction factor).

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.

Low

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.

Proposed recommendations within the project study area include improving the storm sewer drainage system to meet the 2-year and the 100-year storm event conveyance requirements. Currently, the existing storm sewers are inadequate and do not meet current city capacity requirements. Improvements are designed considering ATLAS14 rainfall intensities. During heavy rainfall events, ponding is a persistent problem, making the corridor unsafe and at times, non-traversable. These drainage improvements will provide adequate capacity for excess water to drain into Buffalo Bayou more quickly and efficiently. This will help all roadway users including drivers, the bus, and people walking or biking. Project details can be found in the attached DCR document including Appendices A and B. The two new bridges across Buffalo Bayou also have significant drainage improvements as the new bridges will be elevated higher than the existing bridges’ profile to provide better confluence of water flowing in the bayou. Additionally, the bridges will have new inlets to catch water and tie into the existing underground drainage system as opposed to how they currently drain directly into the bayou from the roadway top of deck. These drainage improvements will assist with excessive run-off directly into the bayou at this location.

Access/Connectivity

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

4049

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

4822

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

Yes

3. Does the proposed project improve or provide new connectivity to a school/college/university within a quarter mile buffer of the project location?

Yes

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

Yes

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

4,049

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

4,822

1c. Household Population Under Poverty

1,457

1d. Disabled Persons

930

1e. Elderly Persons

885

1f. Limited English Proficiency

289

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.

17.3

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 project corridor supports the METRO 67 route, but also regionally serves three transit routes (connecting to the Addicks Park & Ride) and provides access to the Terry Hershey Park and Hike & Bike Trail. The proposed pedestrian infrastructure improvements, including sidewalk additions and sidewalk widening, new crosswalks, median refuges, and pedestrian push buttons will serve those relying on transit along the corridor to access jobs, residences, retail, schools and neighborhood parks and green spaces. Furthermore, intersection improvements that address access management will increase safety, improve the flow of traffic, and address the city’s Vision Zero goals by reducing the chance of pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries through safer street design.

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 proposed roadway and sidewalk upgrades along the Dairy Ashford corridor including upgrades to the bridges across Buffalo Bayou will provide value and benefits to vulnerable populations who may live, work, shop, or go to school in the nearby vicinity. The proposed project would enhance the overall infrastructure to support people driving, walking, taking transit, and/or accessing Terry Hershey Trail system. The pavement along the corridor is uneven, does not drain well, and lacks safe/updated sidewalks with safe crossings. These conditions make access to public and private facilities jobs and services challenging, especially during or after major rainfall events. These conditions could also delay or prevent Houston METRO buses from accessing stops up and down the Dairy Ashford corridor. Vulnerable population groups may include children and/or families who may walk along the Dairy Ashford corridor to access school, including Stratford High School north of Memorial Dr. or jobs all along the corridor. As vulnerable populations often suffer the worst detriments of aging infrastructure and living in less desirable (flood-prone) areas, this project aims to address many of those effects, including reconstruction of the Dairy Ashford Road and bridges across Buffalo Bayou that will improve/replace aging, run-down, infrastructure along the roadway, sidewalks, and will improve/upgrade drainage through new/enhanced storm sewers and inlets. There will be no displacement of persons, businesses, farms or non-profit organizations. There will be no adverse impacts on employment or private facilities and services. This project will enhance the public facility of the roadway and adjacent pedestrian areas and drainage facilities. This project will provide mitigation for itself. It will not cause or contribute to any impacts to the existing floodplains. Outflows beyond the improved area have been restricted to match the existing outflows for extreme events. There are no adverse impacts to any natural and/or cultural resources. While identified wetlands and floodplains are present near the project corridor, reconstruction of the travel facilities will not produce negative externalities to these natural resources.

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 will not impact flood plains, wetlands, nor cultural resources according to both the "Red Flag Report" attachment as well as seen on the Regional Conservation Framework map using H-GAC's tool.

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)

Note H-GAC staff: Please calculate the emissions reductions for this project

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?