Houston September 2, 2009 - TxDOT: Houston is home to Texas' most-congested roadway

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Graphic below is from the Houston Chronicle:


TxDOT: Houston is home to Texas' most-congested roadway
05:30 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Associated Press and Brad Woodard / 11 News

AUSTIN, Texas -- A state agency has proof of what many Texas drivers already know. Harris County, with its nearly 4 million residents, has a lot of traffic. The Department of Transportation says a stretch of Interstate 45 in the Houston area tops the list of the state’s 100 most congested roadways.

The roadway from South Loop 8 to Interstate 610 totaled nearly 450,000 hours of delay a mile and almost 4.3 million hours of delay annually at a cost of $88 million. “You’ve got to keep in mind 1-45 was built 20 plus years ago,” said P.E. transportation engineer Gonzalo Camacho. “It’s probably about time it needs to be reconstructed.”

In fact, Harris County is home to six of the state’s top ten most congested roads, but something sets I-45 apart. You see, I-45 is a hurricane evacuation route and remember what happened during Hurricane Rita. “In my mind it sets it as a priority versus other highways at the state level. Look at Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S. It needs to be a priority,” said Camacho.

Three stretches in Harris County and two in Dallas County, including No. 2 from I-635 to Woodall Rodgers Freeway, make up the top five most congested segments.

All roads in Texas were part of the analysis, but for practical purposes only freeways, tollways, expressways, frontage roads and certain artery streets were included.

References:
List: TxDOT's 100 Most Congested Roadways

August 14, 2005 (Houston I-45) Worried residents voice opposition to freeway expansion plan

Worried residents voice opposition to freeway expansion plan
Gene Apodaca

ABC13 Eyewitness News(8/14/05 - HOUSTON) - Hundreds of residents faced off with the Texas Department of Transportation. They're worried about a proposed plan to expand Interstate 45 and they made their concerns heard at a town hall meeting.
Residents are concerned that under the proposed plan their homes would be in jeopardy. Now they're asking the state to look at other alternatives.

For more than 30 years Maria Hurtado has worked to make her Woodland Heights house a home. But now she worries an expansion project could leave her homeless. She said, "I'm still paying on my house. I'm very close to finishing the payments." Hurtado was one of about 800 concerned residents packing Davis High School Saturday. Each was worried about what the proposed I-45 expansion would mean for them.

Heights resident Robin Franklin said, "Destruction of quality of life, taking out homes." "If they take more land than they need and more than the public is willing to give, then it's a lose-lose situation," explained Terry O'Conner, a Woodland Heights resident.

Last month, the Texas Department of Transportation presented its preferred plan for expansion. It's a plan calling for the addition of four managed lanes along I-45 in addition to the existing eight lanes already there. But critics say there are better plans out there. Some want a tunnel to be built, sparing neighboring communities..

Ken Lindow with the I-45 Coalition explained, "We're concerned about losing our homes. We're concerned about more noise, more pollution."

On Saturday, TX-DOT promised to take the suggestions into consideration. "I hope this is a wakeup call to all our mobility advocates and leaders, that you have to listen to the public," said US Rep Sheila Jackson Lee.

A final plan isn't expected until at least October. Until then, those like Hurtado can only wait and worry about their homes. It's estimated that some 90,000 residents would be affected under the current plan.
(Copyright © 2005, KTRK-TV)