Houston US 290: plans changed to restore originally-planned non-toll lanes

[MaxConcrete]

For those not familiar the the project, which is currently under construction:
Originally, US 290 was going to be entirely non-tolled lanes, generally 5 or 6 lanes in each direction. (there are currently 3 each way). The toll lanes were going to be on the parallel Hempstead Tollway.

Then the Hempstead Tollway was indefinitely deferred, and the US 290 project configuration was revised to have four lanes each way and three reversible tolled lanes in the center. The tolled lanes would have required some long, expensive elevated structures at Loop 610 and especially at Beltway 8.

Then TxDOT and the Harris County Toll Road Authority could not reach an agreement on the management of the tolled lanes, so Harris County's participation ended and it was up to TxDOT to retain the existing plan or make a new plan.

TxDOT has now decided there will be one reversible HOT lane, which leave space for around five toll-free lanes in each direction.

I am very pleased to see this design change. I prefer to maximize the number for general use (non-tolled) lanes, and this will make it more likely that the Hempstead Tollway will be built for the toll lane option.


U.S. 290 plans change to single managed lane

By Dug Begley

October 30, 2014

State transportation officials have changed plans for widening U.S. 290, increasing capacity for people driving alone but reducing opportunities for alternatives to solo driving.

After initially planning four or five general use lanes in each direction and three reversible managed (toll and carpool) lanes in the center, Texas Department of Transportation officials are now planning for a single managed lane. This lane, however, will extend to Mason Road, much farther to the northwest than previously planned, said Karen Othon, spokeswoman for the U.S. 290 widening project.

Reducing the space for carpool and toll lanes gives officials room to add one or two more general use lanes in some spots, making five or six free lanes available.

The project, broken into 13 distinct segments, covers U.S. 290 from Loop 610 to FM 2920 in Waller at a cost of $1.8 billion. State officials initially had a $400 million commitment from Harris County for the managed lanes, but that was reduced to $200 million when state and county officials could not agree on how the managed lanes would operate.

Othon said the change in the state-county agreement led to changes in the lane configuration.

"This will not change anything in terms of construction right now," Othon said. "It's a matter of striping the lanes and putting up the dividers."

The change will require TxDOT to have another round of public comment, which Othon said will occur early next year. Construction of the 38-mile corridor is scheduled to finish in 2017.

Though a huge freeway project in its own right, the U.S. 290 widening is only part of a $4.7 billion plan for freeway and transit development in northwest Houston and Harris County.

Eventually, Othon said, a tollway is planned along Hempstead Highway, providing carpool and transit access. A 50-foot corridor along this tollway is expected to one day carry high-capacity transit such as commuter rail.

The Hempstead corridor projects, however, remain well beyond state and local officials' current funding plans.

Othon said additional general use lanes on 290 would help relieve the immense demand drivers place today on the freeway. About 240,000 vehicles use the freeway daily, based on TxDOT counts.

A reduction in managed lanes, however, means options other than driving alone become less attractive. Interstate 10 west of downtown Houston has managed lanes in both directions, providing a bigger benefit for those who use transit or share a ride.

"The point is to add capacity," said Christof Spieler, a member of the Metropolitan Transit Authority board.

Metro officials urged TxDOT to build two-way managed lanes to improve transit options. Buses across Houston use the managed lane system - Metro maintains many of the lanes - because they typically enable buses to make quicker trips between suburban park-and-ride locations and major job centers. If buses are stuck in the same traffic solo drivers are, they lose their advantage, transit officials said.

At least one commuter agreed that U.S. 290 was ripe for better transit.

"When I first saw the plans for three (managed) lanes I thought it was genius," said Andrew Mitcham, who commutes regularly from Jersey Village by bus. "I thought it was probably the smartest HOV lane configuration I have seen."

He called the single lane plan a "terrible" step backward. A single lane can be tied up by any accident or delay, Mitcham said.

Critics of widening freeways often point to an effect called induced demand, arguing that the widened freeway causes more people to drive and eventually the new freeway is just as crowded as its previous configuration - only across more lanes.

"If you are expanding 290 and you keep one (managed) lane, you are not solving any problem because those lanes will fill up," Mitcham said.

[codyg1985]

I'm glad at least one expansion project in the metro areas of Texas doesn't involve adding just toll lanes without increasing the general purpose lanes.

[dfwmapper]

The DFW Connector project widened the shared portion of SH 114/SH 121 from 8 to 13 GP lanes. TxDOT is also now widening SH 121 from FM 2499 to the 121 Business/SRT split from 4 to 10 GP lanes, all free. 35 Express is adding a GP lane in each direction between PGBT and Denton and also adding frontage roads over Lake Lewisville.

[MaxConcrete]

This plan is now near-final since TxDOT has scheduled a public meeting.
http://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/get-involved/about/hearings-meetings/houston/090115.html

The new schematics are also now posted online
http://www.my290.com/maps/interim-us-290-managed-lanes-map-drawings.html

Observations
* I'm glad to get as many new non-toll lanes as possible, which is two in each direction plus auxiliary lanes. This is Texas, so new non-toll lanes are hard to get (although hopefully that will be changing with the new political climate).

* I'm very disappointed to see that the new layout has 11-foot-wide general-purpose lanes for the entire length. The previous design (4-3T-4) had 11-foot-wide lanes, but I thought the elimination of the need for dual shoulders on the toll lanes opened up enough space for 12-foot-wide lanes. I can't remember if the original design (which had no HOV or HOT lanes) had 11-foot or 12-foot-wide lanes. In many of the cross sections inside BW8 the interior shoulder is quite wide - up to 15.5 feet.

* From SH 6 to Loop 610 there is now 10 sustained main lanes (5 each direction), plus auxiliary lanes which makes the total regular lane count up to 14 lanes especially around BW8. This includes a collector structure at BW8.

* There is a single HOV lane for the entire length. At loop 610 it connects into the transit center and Old Katy Road. I don't see any direct connection to/from Loop 610.

* However, just west of Mangum there are only three lanes connecting to Loop 610 in both directions. This is at the point where two lanes exit onto the long elevated ramp to Interstate 10. This is especially strange on the eastbound lanes because there is a two-lane on-ramp east of Mangum which restores the eastbound side to 5 lanes.

* Westbound there are six sustained lanes from BW8 past Jones road.

* SH 6 has a long overpass over Hempstead Road, US 290 and Wortham Blvd. I think that is unchanged from the previous design.


Also, I recently added a few photos on my right-of-way clearance photo page on HoustonFreeways.com, mainly the now-vacant Gold Cup gentlemen's club property which was about to be cleared.
http://houstonfreeways.com/modern/2014-01-18_us_290_right-of-way_clearance.aspx
 

[Chris]

Is the Hempstead Tollway completely off the table now? Considering they reduced the reversible facility from 3 managed lanes to 1 HOV lane may indicate they expect a Hempstead Tollway at some point.

[TXtoNJ]

So they're adding feeder connections at the Grand Parkway? I had been under the impression that the 99 feeder roads would not be going through.

[MaxConcrete]

OK, now I know why the new plan has 11-foot-wide lanes. The original plan had eleven 12-foot wide lanes, generally six outbound and five inbound, and no HOV/HOT lanes.

The new plan still has eleven lanes, but one of the lanes is an HOV lane. The HOV lane is 20 feet wide (rather than 12 feet wide) and requires an extra 2-foot-wide barrier for an added requirement of 10 feet for that lane. So one foot of width was removed from each of the remaining 10 traffic lanes.

Construction is well underway on the entire project so it is not possible to increase the footprint.

[MaxConcrete]

Is the Hempstead Tollway completely off the table now? Considering they reduced the reversible facility from 3 managed lanes to 1 HOV lane may indicate they expect a Hempstead Tollway at some point.

I agree with your speculation that the Hempstead Tollway is back on the table and much more likely to be built with the new plan for US 290. In fact, I'm thinking that the Hempstead Tollway could be built sooner rather than later (ie opening within 10 years). I noticed on some of the schematics a designation of "Future Tollway" on the tollway corridor (for example the FM 1960 area schematic), which suggests that TxDOT wants people to be aware of it.

I also think there is a strong likelihood it would be built in conjunction with the Houston-to-Dallas high speed rail, if in fact the high speed rail project proceeds. The rail proponents are talking about opening around 2021. The corridor for the high speed rail is alongside the Hempstead toll road corridor, and the rail line would need a fully grade-separated corridor. Of course, the toll road also needs a grade-separated corridor. It would make a lot of sense to build both corridors at the same time, or at least design the separations so that the tollway could be easily added in the future.

I recall that the schematics for the Hempstead Toll Road showed the toll road going over most cross streets. I'm thinking that accommodating the high speed rail (which would need to be mostly level) would require a design where cross streets go over or under the corridor, and the rail/tollway stays at ground level.
 
 

[TXtoNJ]

Is the Hempstead Tollway completely off the table now? Considering they reduced the reversible facility from 3 managed lanes to 1 HOV lane may indicate they expect a Hempstead Tollway at some point.

I agree with your speculation that the Hempstead Tollway is back on the table and much more likely to be built with the new plan for US 290. In fact, I'm thinking that the Hempstead Tollway could be built sooner rather than later (ie opening within 10 years). I noticed on some of the schematics a designation of "Future Tollway" on the tollway corridor (for example the FM 1960 area schematic), which suggests that TxDOT wants people to be aware of it.

I also think there is a strong likelihood it would be built in conjunction with the Houston-to-Dallas high speed rail, if in fact the high speed rail project proceeds. The rail proponents are talking about opening around 2021. The corridor for the high speed rail is alongside the Hempstead toll road corridor, and the rail line would need a fully grade-separated corridor. Of course, the toll road also needs a grade-separated corridor. It would make a lot of sense to build both corridors at the same time, or at least design the separations so that the tollway could be easily added in the future.

I recall that the schematics for the Hempstead Toll Road showed the toll road going over most cross streets. I'm thinking that accommodating the high speed rail (which would need to be mostly level) would require a design where cross streets go over or under the corridor, and the rail/tollway stays at ground level.
 
 

That would be a rather clever way to help finance the HSR project - you get state cash thrown at it to help mitigate construction costs, and in exchange, if TCR ends up failing, the state gets the ability to expand the toll road corridor over the HSR right of way.