Tag Archives: construction

Who gets displaced by I-45?

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Worth keeping in mind, the cost of expanding I-45 is more than just dollars. The I-45 project’s toll on local property owners would be unprecedented for TxDOT in Houston, potentially relocating hundreds of families and businesses. Estimated to cost at … Continue reading →

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And now a few words from our city transportation planner

Posted on May 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Didn’t know we had one, did you? Well, we do, his name is David Fields, and he had a few things to say to Chron reporter Dug Begley in a recent Q&A: As you look at upcoming plans and projects … Continue reading →

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The city’s vision for I-45

Posted on April 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I like the way this is shaping up. The city of Houston is prepared to ask for major changes in state plans to rebuild Interstate 45 that potentially could scale back the planned widening of the freeway and put a … Continue reading →

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Texas Central opponents see an opportunity

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Never waste an opportunity. Examination of a planned high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas should be halted as the country addresses the new coronavirus pandemic and the company rethinks its financial shape, 30 elected officials in Texas told federal … Continue reading →

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Is it finally going to be Infrastructure Week?

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this: Lawmakers have been talking about striking a deal to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure for years. It might take a pandemic to finally get them to do it, and Texas officials are already … Continue reading →

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Metro slows its roll on system improvements

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. Houston-area transit officials will wait out a little more of the coronavirus crisis before soliciting bids on five of the first projects in their $7 billion construction bonanza for bus and rail upgrades. “Moving this by a … Continue reading →

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Les traffic, easier construction

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll be talking about the knock-on effects of the coronavirus pandemic for years to come. A lighter load on Houston-area freeways and COVID-19 concerns have not slowed the heavy machinery making way for more lanes or new ramps along many … Continue reading →

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Texas Central hopes to start construction this year

Posted on March 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It would be best for them if they get going before the Lege can take any action against them. After an economic impact statement and safety rules are completed, the Texas High-Speed Train may begin construction before the end of … Continue reading →

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There’s still (a little) time to affect the I-45 design

Posted on February 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There’s stuff happening this week. After that, it gets harder. City officials and consultants will spend the coming weeks finalizing a few ways to turn the region’s largest and most controversial freeway rebuild of recent years into an Interstate 45 … Continue reading →

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A better way to do I-45

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Michael Skelley on Facebook: Here’s a new vision for I-45. -saves money -no displacement in low income areas -no destruction of White Oak Bayou -prevents TxDOT vandalization of EaDo -downtown amenities if we want to fund those ourselves This … Continue reading →

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Crunch time for I-45

Posted on January 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The rubber is meeting the road, as it were. Three Houston Planning Department meetings scheduled for this week, days prior to a key state deadline, could prove pivotal in shaping how Interstate 45 is rebuilt — with ramifications for years … Continue reading →

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Uptown BRT pushed back to July

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Sigh. Opening day for Houston’s first bus rapid transit line has been pushed back to mid-summer as construction enters the final steps along most of the route before reaching a three-month testing period. Service is expected to start no earlier … Continue reading →

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Uptown BRT line update

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s coming, it’s coming. Hold your horses. The new year will come with a new sight in Houston: Big gray buses bounding along a dedicated lane on Post Oak through Uptown. For the first few weeks, however, people will not … Continue reading →

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Texas Central signs a manufacturing deal

Posted on September 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

For your information. The bullet train planned between Houston and Dallas has a builder. Texas Central, the private company developing the Texas Bullet Train, announced Friday morning it signed a deal with Salini Impregilo, the Italian construction giant, and its … Continue reading →

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What can we really do about I-45?

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Urban planner Jeff Speck is once again warning us about the negative effects of widening I-45. TxDOT cites three principal motivations for advancing the I-45 project: reducing traffic congestion, improving driver safety, and improving air quality. These laudable goals are … Continue reading →

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Party Boy bye-bye

Posted on August 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Sad. This October may be the last year the view south of I-10 across from the Heights is a giant orange pumpkin. The property housing Party Boy at 1515 Studemont, where an inflatable pumpkin is displayed atop the building each … Continue reading →

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HGAC makes its pledge to TxDOT for I-45

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of pushback, but not enough to change the outcome. Local transportation officials now have skin in the game when it comes to widening Interstate 45 north of downtown Houston, approving on Friday a $100 million commitment for the project … Continue reading →

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Meet MetroRapid

Posted on July 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the new, official name for the Uptown BRT line. Station names along the Post Oak dedicated bus lanes will have a familiar ring for riders, transit and Uptown officials decided, as they inch toward opening the region’s first foray … Continue reading →

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HGAC gives initial approval to TxDOT’s funding demand

Posted on July 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Approval with concerns. There will be opportunities to revisit this. Plans to overhaul Interstate 45 north of downtown Houston inched forward this week, but not without some hesitation and a slew of caveats by some local officials who have been … Continue reading →

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Another manifesto against I-45 expansion

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

They’re fun to read, and my heart is with them, but we all know how this works. The I-45 project is likely to do irreversible damage to our city’s finances and ecology. It will reduce the city’s tax base by … Continue reading →

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TxDOT wants H-GAC to commit money to the I-45 project

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t understand this. To demonstrate local support for the mega-project, the Texas Department of Transportation is asking the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Transportation Policy Council, the committee that doles out state and federal money controlled by local officials, to commit … Continue reading →

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Downtown post office redevelopment update

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the big post office at the north end of downtown? It was sold a few years ago and slated for redevelopment, and after a few years that project is getting ready to get started. Lovett Commercial, the Houston-based company … Continue reading →

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In defense of the I-45 expansion

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Jeff Balke rises in opposition to the anti-I-45-expansion clamor. We have seen comments on social media and rantings about how our city should be more bike friendly and pedestrian safe. How we need commuter rail, better bus service and rapid … Continue reading →

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What if we didn’t expand I-45?

Posted on June 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an awful lot of money that comes with a ton of negative effects and which, if the I-10 expansion is any guide, will have short-lived positive effects. So maybe we should just, like, not do it? A massive remake … Continue reading →

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Happy (bike) trails to you

Posted on June 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Trails connecting to trails. It’s a beautiful thing. With roughly four miles of new trail in the neighborhood along Sims Bayou and a electric transmission route, officials in southern Houston’s Five Corners District as well as park advocates said they … Continue reading →

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Still filled with dread about I-45

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Anyone got a paper bag I can breathe into? Strip away the enormity of rebuilding Interstate 45 and the promise of speedier trips along downtown Houston freeways, and two questions about the once-in-a-generation project remain: How many negative effects are … Continue reading →

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Independence Heights and I-45

Posted on June 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes, with everything else that’s going on in the world, I forget that the I-45 expansion is still out there, looming like a battleship in the harbor. But there it is, and we can’t not worry about it. For Tanya … Continue reading →

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We still have a lot of broken flood mitigation infrastructure

Posted on June 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Did I mention that hurricane season is underway? As the Atlantic hurricane season arrives Saturday, Harris County leaders say the region remains extremely vulnerable to major storms two years after Hurricane Harvey’s unprecedented rains swamped the Houston area, forcing leaders … Continue reading →

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HOV for Uptown BRT update

Posted on June 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Checking in on this long-time project. Uptown’s bet on buses is getting a lift from TxDOT in a first-of-its-kind venture that has state highway dollars going to a mass transit project along one of Houston’s most clogged freeways. Come next … Continue reading →

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We’re gonna need a bigger meeting room

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Seems reasonable. With a newfound public interest in Harris County Commissioners Court meetings, which at times have been so crowded that would-be attendees have been turned away, court members plan to build a larger chamber. Commissioners Court [asked] County Engineer … Continue reading →

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What’s wrong with the I-45 expansion plan?

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Urban planner Jeff Speck, in a recent lecture in Houston, lays out the following problems with the planned I-45 expansion: The brief list of negatives include: I-45 will wreck your bayou parks. I-45 will destroy wildlife habitat. I-45 will make … Continue reading →

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There is no longer a ban on federal funds for rail on Richmond

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is about as bittersweet as it gets. There are no plans to build light rail on Richmond, but for the first time in a long time there is nothing stopping Metro from asking for federal funds to help pay … Continue reading →

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Architect hired for Ismaili Center construction on Robinson Warehouse site

Posted on February 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is the most exciting bit of local news I’ve seen in years. The worldwide Ismaili Muslim community announced Wednesday it is moving forward with plans to make Houston the site of its first U.S. cultural center and to create … Continue reading →

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Joint processing center opens

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This was a long time coming, but it should be worth the wait. More than a decade after city voters approved a bond measure to fund it, Houston and Harris County opened a joint inmate processing center Thursday that officials … Continue reading →

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