SH 288 toll lanes, Houston

[MaxConcrete]

When the original 288 South Freeway was built in the 1980's, was the median intentionally left wide in anticipation of future expansion?  Also are there plans to upgrade the entire SH 288 to interstate standards from Houston to Freeport?  This would help in hurricane evacuations for Brazoria county.

Yes, the wide median was intended for future expansion. The first public meeting for the freeway was held in 1963 and the design with the "dual" freeway was first presented in 1966.
http://dallasfreeways.com/dfwfreeways/pdf/South_Freeway_150ppi.pdf

Yes, there are plans to upgrade the entire length of SH 288 to freeway standards. The section which needs the most work is between SH 6 and Angleton. There is $136 million in work slated for bidding in August 2022. Those jobs will add overpasses at intersections which are currently at-grade.

https://www.dot.state.tx.us/insdtdot/orgchart/cmd/cserve/let/2022/lethou.htm

[CoreySamson]

When the original 288 South Freeway was built in the 1980's, was the median intentionally left wide in anticipation of future expansion?  Also are there plans to upgrade the entire SH 288 to interstate standards from Houston to Freeport?  This would help in hurricane evacuations for Brazoria county.

Yes, the wide median was intended for future expansion. The first public meeting for the freeway was held in 1963 and the design with the "dual" freeway was first presented in 1966.
http://dallasfreeways.com/dfwfreeways/pdf/South_Freeway_150ppi.pdf

Yes, there are plans to upgrade the entire length of SH 288 to freeway standards. The section which needs the most work is between SH 6 and Angleton. There is $136 million in work slated for bidding in August 2022. Those jobs will add overpasses at intersections which are currently at-grade.

https://www.dot.state.tx.us/insdtdot/orgchart/cmd/cserve/let/2022/lethou.htm

Even with those at-grade intersections, they've recently been taking out the crossings and replacing them with median U-turns as a temporary replacement until the corridor becomes entirely freeway. I've also heard 6-laning 288 between TX-6 and Lake Jackson is in the cards, as well.

As for hurricane evacuations, 288 is not a good evacuation route for most of Brazoria County because it runs smack-bang into Houston and Galveston evacuation traffic. TX-36 is a much better alternative for those closer to the coast because it avoids most of the Houston metro.

[Bobby5280]

Hurricane evacuation is another reason why the Grand Parkway needs to be completed as a continuous loop. That would give people South of Houston more exit alternatives than I-45 (or TX-288).

TX-36 does avoid much of the Houston metro, but it is not a high capacity, high speed route like a freeway or toll road. It's going to move only so much traffic.

One thing I believe would help improve hurricane evacuation efforts (and traffic relief efforts) South of Houston is doing upgrades to the TX-35 corridor. A good lateral East-West route would give people easier access to other alternative hurricane exit routes farther the West. Parts of TX-35 are 4-lane divided now to the West of the TX-288 corridor. There needs to be a more direct path between the Angleton-Lake Jackson area and Galveston. It's impossible to build an expressway or freeway near the coast between Lake Jackson and Galveston due for various reasons. The Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge is an obstacle. A 4-lane divided highway or freeway running on or near the existing FM-2004 corridor would be a help.

[jgb191]

TX-36 is another option for evacuation, but it's only a single lane in each direction and only goes to small towns (Needville, West Columbia) so it should be just a secondary option.   Going north on TX-288 then probably take TX-6 North around the city of Houston might be the best way to evacuate.

And for weaker hurricanes (cat 1-2) landing in the upper Texas coast we might only need to evacuate the coastal cities like Freeport and Galveston, the residents of Houston should be just fine to remain in the city.

[achilles765]

Hurricane evacuation is another reason why the Grand Parkway needs to be completed as a continuous loop. That would give people South of Houston more exit alternatives than I-45 (or TX-288).

TX-36 does avoid much of the Houston metro, but it is not a high capacity, high speed route like a freeway or toll road. It's going to move only so much traffic.

One thing I believe would help improve hurricane evacuation efforts (and traffic relief efforts) South of Houston is doing upgrades to the TX-35 corridor. A good lateral East-West route would give people easier access to other alternative hurricane exit routes farther the West. Parts of TX-35 are 4-lane divided now to the West of the TX-288 corridor. There needs to be a more direct path between the Angleton-Lake Jackson area and Galveston. It's impossible to build an expressway or freeway near the coast between Lake Jackson and Galveston due for various reasons. The Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge is an obstacle. A 4-lane divided highway or freeway running on or near the existing FM-2004 corridor would be a help.

Well they are seriously starting to talk about and plan to turn SH 35 into a freeway from I-45/I-610 to I think where the Grand Parkway is supposed to be built down there.  Plus, there's the SH 146 freeway being built now.  I think another east -west route might help down there: maybe an extension of NASA 1

[CoreySamson]

Hurricane evacuation is another reason why the Grand Parkway needs to be completed as a continuous loop. That would give people South of Houston more exit alternatives than I-45 (or TX-288).

TX-36 does avoid much of the Houston metro, but it is not a high capacity, high speed route like a freeway or toll road. It's going to move only so much traffic.

One thing I believe would help improve hurricane evacuation efforts (and traffic relief efforts) South of Houston is doing upgrades to the TX-35 corridor. A good lateral East-West route would give people easier access to other alternative hurricane exit routes farther the West. Parts of TX-35 are 4-lane divided now to the West of the TX-288 corridor. There needs to be a more direct path between the Angleton-Lake Jackson area and Galveston. It's impossible to build an expressway or freeway near the coast between Lake Jackson and Galveston due for various reasons. The Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge is an obstacle. A 4-lane divided highway or freeway running on or near the existing FM-2004 corridor would be a help.

I believe I saw somewhere that TX-36 might be getting upgraded to 4 lanes in the future, which would be instrumental for evacuation efforts. It has the EvacuLane on the shoulder too. I agree that completing the Grand Parkway from I-69 to 288 would definitely help out as well, but that still funnels lots of traffic onto an already busy route.

Funny that you should mention FM-2004. I've driven it several times between Lake Jackson and Galveston, and to me, it seems traffic volumes do not justify a freeway at all. Widening, perhaps, but not a freeway. TxDOT could probably just get away with adding a couple passing lanes and a new bridge over Chocolate Bayou. The route in the area that needs to be a freeway is TX-35 between Alvin and Angleton. It's only two lanes and gets very congested and dangerous with all the traffic on it. I've thought such a freeway could bypass Angleton on FM 523 to connect with the TX-35 expressway west of Angleton.

[Chris]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/txdot-288-tolls-pearland-blueridge-19363817.php

The Houston Chronicle reports on a possible buyout of the lease for the express lanes of SH 288.

Texas highway officials, well-funded and looking to stay that way, will consider buying out the private consortium that oversees the Texas 288 Toll Lanes, tearing up a 50-year deal they inked less than a decade ago in favor of long-term toll collections for years to come.

[MaxConcrete]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/txdot-288-tolls-pearland-blueridge-19363817.php

The Houston Chronicle reports on a possible buyout of the lease for the express lanes of SH 288.

Texas highway officials, well-funded and looking to stay that way, will consider buying out the private consortium that oversees the Texas 288 Toll Lanes, tearing up a 50-year deal they inked less than a decade ago in favor of long-term toll collections for years to come.

The Transportation Commission approved this resolution. Chairman Bugg emphasized that the resolution authorizes TxDOT to begin the process of purchasing the facility, and there are no immediate changes as a result of this resolution. He also mentioned that the performance of the private consortium is not a factor in this decision.

Senator Robert Nichols was involved in legislation which empowered the SH 288 private toll lanes to be built. He made an appearance to provide background on the history, which goes back to the early 2000s.

A representative from the very pro-toll Reason Foundation made a statement urging TxDOT to reject the resolution.

Even with all the discussion, there was no mention of the reason for the potential buyout of the toll lanes. Nichols suggested the toll lanes may be more profitable than anticipated, so it is a good deal for TxDOT to buy it at the price specified in the contract.

I'm in favor of the buyout because I hope it will result in lower tolls. The tolls have become ridiculously high in the short time the toll road has been open. The ramps at the interchange at Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tollway) are tolled, and using a ramp incurs a toll of $2.96. That's absurdly high. Using the full length of main lanes costs around $15. I think the interchange ramps should be untolled, and the main lane tolls should not exceed $5.

[Stephane Dumas]

I wonder if HCTRA might be interested to the toll lanes of TX-288?

[Chris]

The high tolls are indicative of a high usage, they wouldn't price it this high if there was no demand for it. It was reported in 2021 that demand was higher than expected.

Is this the only highway P3 project in the Houston area?

It wouldn't be a great message to such developers that your lease can be terminated. Texas may have a lot of cash lying around to do so, but in many other areas it seems impossible to fund large projects without tolls (for example I-10 in Lake Charles).

I'm aware of the Reason Foundation stance on it, they say that American pension funds have huge amounts capital laying around to invest in roads, but as P3s are opposed (or in many cases, no legislation in place to implement P3 projects), that money will be going overseas. American pension funds invest in toll roads in the Faroe Islands but not in Texas...?

[MaxConcrete]

The high tolls are indicative of a high usage, they wouldn't price it this high if there was no demand for it.

That might be true at peak periods, but the rest of the time there is abundant capacity. For example, when I drove through the interchange at the Sam Houston Tollway, where using a ramp costs $2.96, I saw very few vehicles on the ramps.

I think profit is maximized by high tolls. Even if they lose many or most customers, the customers who pay generate high revenue to increase profit.

Is this the only highway P3 project in the Houston area?

Yes

It wouldn't be a great message to such developers that your lease can be terminated. Texas may have a lot of cash lying around to do so, but in many other areas it seems impossible to fund large projects without tolls (for example I-10 in Lake Charles).

I'm aware of the Reason Foundation stance on it, they say that American pension funds have huge amounts capital laying around to invest in roads, but as P3s are opposed (or in many cases, no legislation in place to implement P3 projects), that money will be going overseas. American pension funds invest in toll roads in the Faroe Islands but not in Texas...?

The Reason Foundation representative said funds available for toll road investment will prefer to go to other states which have authorized P3s, like North Carolina and Georgia.

The transportation commission has a directive from the governor to minimize the amount of tolling done by TxDOT. So the commissioners are not concerned if investment funds go elsewhere. Also, the local toll agencies in Texas (NTTA, CTRMA, HCTRA, FBCTRA, etc) will continue to build new toll roads. Most or all of them issue traditional bonds.

We don't know how TxDOT will handle tolling if it buys the facility. Tolls will almost surely remain, but hopefully they will be much lower.

[MaxConcrete]

The high tolls are indicative of a high usage, they wouldn't price it this high if there was no demand for it.

That might be true at peak periods, but the rest of the time there is abundant capacity. For example, when I drove through the interchange at the Sam Houston Tollway, where using a ramp costs $2.96, I saw very few vehicles on the ramps.

I think profit is maximized by high tolls. Even if they lose many or most customers, the customers who pay generate high revenue to increase profit.

Is this the only highway P3 project in the Houston area?

Yes

It wouldn't be a great message to such developers that your lease can be terminated. Texas may have a lot of cash lying around to do so, but in many other areas it seems impossible to fund large projects without tolls (for example I-10 in Lake Charles).

I'm aware of the Reason Foundation stance on it, they say that American pension funds have huge amounts capital laying around to invest in roads, but as P3s are opposed (or in many cases, no legislation in place to implement P3 projects), that money will be going overseas. American pension funds invest in toll roads in the Faroe Islands but not in Texas...?

The Reason Foundation representative said funds available for toll road investment will prefer to go to other states which have authorized P3s, like North Carolina and Georgia.

The transportation commission has a directive from the governor to minimize the amount of tolling done by TxDOT. So the commissioners are not concerned if investment funds go elsewhere. Also, the local toll agencies in Texas (NTTA, CTRMA, HCTRA, FBCTRA, etc) will continue to build new toll roads. Most or all of them issue traditional bonds and don't use P3s.

We don't know how TxDOT will handle tolling if it buys the facility. Tolls will almost surely remain, but hopefully they will be much lower.

[Anthony_JK]

The biggest issue with P3's is that there is a tendency to cut corners when it comes to design and construction, and thusly you get what happened with the I-69 Indiana Segment 4 P3 contract through Bloomington, which had so many design mistakes, delays, and poor management that INDOT ended up terminating the contract and finishing I-69 itself through a traditional public contract.

Also, I'm not so kind on taking pension funds that were designed for workers who paid into them with their labor being looted for private companies to build toll roads in outlying areas or other countries.

I wouldn't mind them either making the 288 express lanes totally free except for the direct connectors to the Sam Houston Tollway interchange (which makes sense, since the SHT is mostly a toll facility), or keeping the tolls as low as possible and using the excess on upgrading the rest of 288 to full freeway all the way to Freeport.