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Mobility Investment Priorities ProjectHoustonUS 59US 59 (SOUTHWEST FWY)IH 610 (West Loop) to SH 288 (South Fwy)Current ConditionsFrom IH 610 West to SH 288, US 59operates with four or five lanes in eachdirection and a reversible high-occupancyvehicle (HOV) lane in the middle. TheSouthwest Freeway experiences slowdownsduring both the morning and evening peakperiods in the northbound direction.Southbound traffic experiences the heaviestcongestion and slowdowns during theevening peak period. Segment Length: 5.5 miles. Road Type: 8- to 10-lane freeway. Annual Hours of Delay: 4,000,000. Texas Congestion Index: 2.01. Commuter Stress Index: 2.06.Possible Congestion CausesThe Southwest Freeway between IH 610 Westand SH 288 is an 8- to 11-lane facility with fouror five lanes in each direction and a reversibleHOV lane in the middle from Spur 527 to IH 610.This segment of US 59 serves major traveldestinations including downtown, Uptown/Galleria, the Texas Medical Center, MuseumDistrict, Greenway Plaza, and Rice University.The segment also serves as a connecting link totraffic headed to/from the University of Houstonvia IH 45. Some reasons for congestion in thissegment include: High travel demand. High traffic volumes merging anddiverging near the interchange of IH 610West and US 59. Limited capacity on IH 610 West to accepttraffic. Vertical and horizontal curves with limitedsight distances and design speeds of lessthan 60 mph. Congestion at the interchange of US 59with IH 45 to the north of this segment. Limited acceleration length on the elevatedroad from the Main Street entrance ramp;2010 Rank: 22013 Rank: 3Annual Hrs of Delay/Mile:Congestion Time:Annual Cost of Delay:Average Daily Traffic:731,0008 Hours 87.1 Million238,000 VehiclesMiles Per Hour H-7traffic cannot merge smoothly with thefreeway.Left hand exit to Spur 527.Start/terminus of Westpark Tollway justwest of this segment results in Westparktraffic using this segment of US 59 as a linkto all downtown destinations, therebyincreasing travel demand on this segment.Bottleneck north of the direct connectorfrom US 59 to West IH 610 northbound.
Projects in Progress or CompletedIncident ClearanceSAFEClear, the City of Houston’s rapid clearanceprogram, provides quick response and towing ofcrashed and disabled vehicles, reducingsecondary crashes and congestion. More than 60private contractor tow trucks rapidly respond toall incidents (approximately two-thirds ofincidents were detected by the roving tow trucksand 90 percent were detected and cleared within20 minutes by SAFEClear). However,effectiveness of this program was reduced insummer 2010 when City budget cuts caused a 50 fee to be instituted for the previously freetows. Average incident clearance time (from towauthorization to clear) increased from 14minutes in 2010 to 27 minutes in 2011.guaranteed ride home, teleworking, alternatework schedules, and parking management.Shared CommutingNuRide is an online rideshare marketingprogram that provides ride matches andrewards users for recording their alternativecommute trips (i.e., ridesharing, bus, rail,telecommute, walk, bike, and compressed workweek). The H-GAC NuRide program is thenation’s largest ridematching rewards program,with over 17,100 registered riders. Since itsinception in June 2005, the program has resultedin 3.32 million fewer car trips, 79.42 millionfewer miles driven, and the saving of3.86 million gallons of gas.Biking and walking trips account for 4.2 percentof alternative commute trips recorded onNuRide during 2011.TxDOT, METRO, and Harris County operatefewer than a dozen Motorist Assistance Program(MAP) pick-up trucks as a free assistanceprogram to provide minor aid to strandedmotorists. It also reduces traffic congestion andimproves highway safety.METRO operates the STAR Vanpool programserving more than 700 routes and is ranked asthe second largest vanpool program nationallyby passenger trips and the third largest vanpoolprogram nationally by passenger miles in the2011 APTA Fact Book.A heavy tow truck contract allows quick removalof large trucks. There is a policy that does nothold TxDOT liable for damage to products thatare removed from the roadway in such an event.FlextimeMany employers offer flexible work schedules,with around 350 employers participatingannually in the Flex in the City Program.Houston TranStar traffic and emergencymanagement center is the coordination hub forall incident management. Traffic incidents aredetected, verified, and the public is notifiedthrough its ITS system. Dispatch and response issent via coordination of the various agencies.Travel OptionsThe Houston-Galveston Area Council’s (H-GAC)Commute Solutions program funds, promotes,and provides administrative support to variouscommute alternative projects. The programprovides public education to commuters andemployers about available commuting options inthe region and on the benefits of usingalternative transportation modes. The CommuteSolutions program also provides literature andpublic outreach on carpooling, vanpools, transit,Incentive Driven TDM ProgramsMany large companies in the Texas MedicalCenter, the Energy Corridor, and downtownsubsidize all or part of their employees’ vanpoolor transit commuting costs.H-8Twenty-five companies are voluntarilyparticipating in the Commute ChampionProgram enabling H-GAC to document emissionreductions related to their commuter benefits.Additionally 38 companies and 17 localgovernments are participating in the Clean AirChampion Program in which they voluntarilyprovide information enabling H-GAC todocument their proactive efforts to decreaseemissions.
TeleworkingApproximately 2.9 percent of the trips recordedby the NuRide program are telecommutes.lane from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. and then from8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on weekdays. In theevening, outbound SOVs can use the HOT lanefrom 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and then from 6:00p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays. HOT lanes areclosed to traffic on weekends.Guaranteed Ride Home ProgramsThe GRH program provides emergency rideshome to transit and rideshare users to addressone of the main concerns of those who leavetheir car at home. All registered users of METRObus and STAR vanpool riders, registered TREKExpress users, and Fort Bend County Transitusers have access to three free rides home percalendar year.Street ImprovementsSignalization, intersection, and transit accessimprovements are being installed to reduceintersection delay at intersections in the UpperKirby Management District along withassociated pedestrian accessibility projects.Minor improvements will be made to 16 otherarea intersections by the Upper KirbyManagement District. Various traffic flowimprovements, pedestrian, and bicycleimprovement projects are also being funded bythe Uptown Houston District.Houston Area Transit ServiceMETRO provides local and express bus servicevia 97 routes, serving approximately 208,200average daily boardings (weekday – FY 2012).METRO also operates 32 park-and-ride routesserving approximately 29,200 average dailyboardings (weekday – FY2012). METRO alsooperates light rail transit along a 7.5-mile sectionserving downtown, the Texas Medical Center,and the Reliant Center with 38,100 average dailyboardings (weekday – FY2012).Planning Efforts to DatePreliminary Engineering and Other StudiesPreliminary engineering is being conducted for: Reconstruction of US 59 NB to IH 610 SBdirect connector. Construction of a direct connector fromIH 610 NB to US 59 SB. Construction of a direct connector fromIH 610 SB to US 59 NB. Reconstruction of frontage roads andintersections from Lancashire Street toShepherd Drive.There are also six transit services that havereceived funding through the Commuter andTransit Services Pilot Program, with a seventhservice set to begin in February 2012.Corridor Transit ServiceEight bus routes serve the downtown and oneroute to the Texas Medical Center. These routescarry 12,200 average daily weekday boardings(FY 2012). Fort Bend County Transit serves theGreenway Plaza/Uptown area along thissegment.Other studies affecting the corridor include: Texas Medical Center multimodaltransportation study. METRO Solutions – University CorridorLight Rail Transit from Hillcroft TransitCenter to Eastwood Transit Center(10.6 miles) and ultimately extended toFort Bend County. METRO Solutions – Uptown Corridor LightRail Transit from Hillcroft Transit Centerto Northwest Transit Center (6.3 miles).HOV/HOT LanesThe Southwest Freeway HOV lane has beenconverted to a High Occupancy Toll (HOT) laneby METRO. Single Occupant Vehicles (SOVs) areallowed to use the HOT lane for a toll duringcertain periods of the morning and evening peak.In the morning, inbound SOVs can use the HOTH-9
IH 45 ExpansionTxDOT is holding public scoping meetings toconduct the IH 45 North Environmental ImpactStatement (EIS) Study for the North HoustonHighway Improvement Project(http://www.ih45northandmore.com/news.aspx) that involves the evaluation of: Next StepsDowntown Redesign Planning StudyIn addition to several short and long termplanned projects described above, threeseparate multimodal transportation corridorfeasibility studies that have the potential toimpact operations on IH 45 are planned to beconducted in 2019. The study limits are: IH 45 North from US 59 to Beltway 8North. SH 288 from US 59 to CR 60 in Angleton. US 59 South from Spur 527 to IH 45including the interchange of SH 288.IH 45 North from the US 59/SH 288interchange to Beltway 8 North.Hardy Toll Road from IH 610 North toBeltway 8 North.Portions of the IH 10, US 59, and SH 288freeways around downtown.Other Planned Projects Improvements to the interchange atSH 288 to accommodate managed lanes onSH 288 planned for 2015 (unfunded). Reconstruct to six mainlanes with auxiliarylanes and four managed lanes from SH 288to Spur 527 (unfunded). Study to develop a transit system to meetthe needs of the Texas Medical Center area.Signature bus express service routes foruptown area by METRO.It is recommended that these three studies becombined into one comprehensive study andaccelerated. The scope of the study shouldinclude all freeway routes within Loop IH 610.H-10Phase 1 of this proposed comprehensive studyhas been included under the currently-underwayIH 45 EIS study. The results of first phase effort
will identify origin-destination patterns for thedowntown freeways within the IH 610 Loop andwill be used to develop alternatives andsolutions to mitigate congestion along multiplefreeway corridors.Quitman and Collingsworth. Relocation of raillines is underway and expected to be completein 2014. Phase II of the project will construct tolllanes. The project implementation scheduleshould be monitored, and if HCTRA’s planschange, there may be a need for additionalactions.Support for Aggressive Incident ManagementThe Motorist Assistance Program has operated afew vehicles to assist with minor repairs andstalled vehicles for 20 years. SAFEClear, the Cityof Houston’s rapid clearance program thatimplemented performance driven tow services(tow trucks have to reach incident site in sixminutes), has been very successful since 2005 inreducing incident clearance times and improvingsafety. Crash reductions of between 10 percentand 15 percent were reported for the first fouryears of the program. Recent funding cuts havemandated that motorists have to pay for the tow,and the tows have been made optional. Thenumber of tows has, therefore, been reduced by60 percent to 70 percent. Dedicated fundingresources or a different operating strategyshould be found for programs such as SAFEClearto advance incident management strategies.Feasibility Study for Implementation of ActiveTraffic Management StrategiesImproving the operation of the existing freewayallows the greatest return on the roadwayinvestment. A study should be conducted toidentify freeway locations that can benefit fromoperational treatments such as dynamicrerouting, dynamic traveler information, andvariable speed limits.Evaluation of Travel Option StrategiesA feasibility study to examine potential benefitsand implementation strategies for travel optionsin the corridor should be conducted. Thesestrategies include, but are not limited to, flextime, carpooling, and employer sponsoredvanpooling, transit, and parking incentives.Mobility Improvements to Significant ParallelStreetsThis early action feasibility study would identifymobility improvements along major streetsparallel to US 59 in order to create viablealternate routes. These mobility improvementswould include capacity increases (wherepossible) and operational treatments includingactive traffic management strategies such assignal re-timing, dynamic rerouting usingimproved surface streets, and travelerinformation.Regional stakeholders are in the process ofexploring new and different funding sources andoperating strategies for a region wide incidentmanagement program.Extension of the Hardy Toll RoadThe Hardy Toll Road extension will provide adirect link to downtown for the current HardyToll Road and is expected to reduce congestionon IH 45. The project will be completed in twophases. Phase I relocates the Houston Belt andTerminal rail lines and constructs overpasses atH-11
Road Type: 8- to 10-lane freeway. Annual Hours of Delay: 4,000,000. Texas Congestion Index: 2.01. Commuter Stress Index: 2.06. Possible Congestion Causes . between IH 610 West and SH 288 is an 8 -to 1 lane facility with four or five lanes in each direction and a reversible HOV lane in the middle from Spur 527 to IH 610.
