Transportation Project Questionnaire

Resiliency and State of Good Repair Questionnaire

Project Information

Agency Name	TxDOT Houston District
Project Title	FM 149
Facility/Street/Highway	FM 149
Limits	From FM 1791 to Grimes County Line
Description	Add 5 -foot shoulders, 1.5 inch mill and overlay.
Timeframe	Short Term (0-5 Years)
Estimated Cost	$9,500,000.00

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:

Major Collector

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

The project will add shoulders to allow more space to move disabled vehicles and to better maintain flow on the facility after vehicle collisions.

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.

2740

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

Pavement Age is 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?

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 not located on the TxDOT or FHWA Freight Networks. The project improves regional goods movement by improving state of good repair on area roads.

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 158.6% and jobs are projected to increase by 53.3%. No land use changes announced or modeled.

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.

This segment of FM 149 will benefit from improved connectivity and improved level of service that will result from this improvement. The average daily volume of traffic on this segment in 2021 was 1,641 with 7.5 percent of that being truck traffic. By 2041 daily traffic volume is expected to increase by 39.98 percent. The purpose of the project is to improve capacity, connectivity, level of service, and safety of the project segment. The added capacity will improve regional connectivity for all modes while also reducing congestion and improving safety by reducing primary and secondary crashes due to congestion and by bringing the segment of FM 149 up to TxDOT and FHWA safety standards.

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.

No sidewalks will be constructed with this pavement improvement project. It is TxDOT’s policy to balance out roadway projects with bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvements in the region as possible.

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.

6.572

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.

26.289

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 6.572, higher than the regional average (1.23), and the serious injury rate is 26.289, higher than the regional average (6.18). Adding shoulders to the facility may reduce head-on, sideswipe, and pedestrian crashes, among others. Shoulders will allow vehicles to move off the roadway after collisions, reducing further crashes caused by congestion. The consolidated crash reduction factor for this project is 40%, as a result of constructing shoulder (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.

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.

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.

All current projects are being designed to meet and/or exceed ATLAS-14 drainage standards.

Access/Connectivity

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

400

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

103

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

400

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

103

1c. Household Population Under Poverty

1d. Disabled Persons

106

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.

8.30

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.

The area surrounding the project segment has a lower low-income population (2.44%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a lower minority population (7.61%) 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. The project will improve drainage to ATLAS-14 standards, which reduce flooding events and their impact on vulnerable populations. As a result of the improvement, vulnerable populations will have increased resilience and evacuation capacity 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 (2.44%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a lower minority population (7.61%) 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.

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)

0,0

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?