Tag Archives: TxDOT

I-10 elevation update

From the Woodland Heights Civic Association January newsletter: I-10 Heights to I-45 Project Update: Community Advocacy Leads to Significant Changes The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has announced modifications to its $347 million plan to elevate a section of Interstate … Continue reading

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Texas TiKTok ban upheld

Sorry, professors. A U.S. judge on Monday upheld Texas’ ban on state employees’, including public university employees, using Chinese-owned short video app TikTok on state-owned devices or networks. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed suit in July … Continue reading

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Montana TikTok ban blocked

Of interest. Montana’s first-in-the-nation law banning the video-sharing app TikTok in the state was blocked Thursday, one month before it was set to take effect, by a federal judge who called the measure unconstitutional. The ruling delivered a temporary win … Continue reading

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Cruise and Houston

An interesting overview of the currently-on-pause driverless taxi service in our town. The nationwide pause included Houston and Austin. However, no Texas or local entity required Cruise to take its vehicles off the road because they legally could not. Senate … Continue reading

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TikTok ban lawsuit has its day in court

Looks like it was a pretty good day for the plaintiffs, but as we know that’s the first very small step in a long journey. A federal judge seemed skeptical of the state’s reasoning to ban TikTok on Texas public … Continue reading

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A brief primer on driverless cars

From the Trib: It’s 8 p.m. in downtown Austin, and the electric cars silently exit the parking lot one by one — but no one is behind the wheel of any of them. The Cruise depot is full of people … Continue reading

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Fair For Houston approved for the ballot

And the questions about what it can accomplish if it passes have begun. Houston voters will decide whether the city should be part of a regional government board that does not give it proportional voting power, after City Council placed … Continue reading

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Fair For Houston gets its item on the ballot

Glad to see it. The city of Houston is one step closer to potentially reshaping its relationship with the influential Houston-Galveston Area Council after officials verified Thursday that a charter amendment campaign had met the threshold for appearing on the … Continue reading

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UT professors sue over TikTok ban

I can’t wait to see how this one plays out. A group of college professors is suing Texas for banning TikTok on public-university computers and phones, saying it has undermined their ability to teach students and research one of the … Continue reading

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Fair for Houston backers submit their signatures

We’ll see if they get their item on the ballot. With the bulk of the population but a fraction of the power, Houston and Harris County long have complained about getting shortchanged when the influential Houston-Galveston Area Council speaks for … Continue reading

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The I-45 project will be old enough to vote before it is finished

Isn’t that nice? Often called a once-in-a-generation project, the planned $9.7 billion-plus rebuild of I-45 from downtown Houston north to Beltway 8, including a total reconstruction of the downtown freeway system, is expected to take a generation to build. A … Continue reading

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Hazmat routes

This story made me think about a thing I basically never think about, and now I wish I didn’t have to think about it. Toxic inhalants, flammable gases and explosive chemicals are just some of what rolls along Dallas-Fort Worth … Continue reading

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Chron story on Fair For Houston

Good stuff. Local advocates have launched a petition drive aimed at increasing the city’s voice on the Houston-Galveston Area Council, a 13-county regional planning council that has been criticized by Houston leaders for what they consider unfair federal fund allocation. Consisting of … Continue reading

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I-45 project is back on

Though it will still be several years before there is any real construction. Nearly two years to the day that federal officials paused TxDOT’s plans for rebuilding Interstate 45 and downtown Houston’s freeway system, national and state highway leaders have come … Continue reading

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If not for I-45 then for something else

Money for highways never goes unspent. Drivers on Houston freeways likely can relate: Facing a slowdown when it comes to rebuilding Interstate 45, state transportation leaders are shifting gears and changing lanes. Unable to significantly move ahead with the controversial … Continue reading

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A brief 11th Street update

From the latest Woodland Heights Civic Association newsletter: 11th Street Safety Improvements: Project Update The WHCA board hosted City officials (David Fields, Lauren Grove, and Colin Lupold) at the January 10th general meeting. We had around 50 or so on … Continue reading

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The Pierce Skypark and the Midtown McDonald’s

Fascinating. The now closed McDonald’s in Midtown isn’t the only parcel at play in the area that could – when combined with a major proposed “sky park’ – help to reshape the southern edge of downtown. The Greyhound bus station next to … Continue reading

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More on the collegiate TikTok bans

An interesting perspective from a professor in Texas. The bans have come in states where governors, like Texas’s Greg Abbott, have blocked TikTok from state-issued computers and phones. Employers can generally exercise control over how employees use the equipment they … Continue reading

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UT bans TikTok on campus WiFi

This feels like a bit of an overreaction to me, but we’ll see if others follow suit. The University of Texas at Austin has blocked access to the video-sharing app TikTok on its Wi-Fi and wired networks in response to … Continue reading

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I-45 construction never stops

It just keeps moving on. Though attention remains on rebuilding Interstate 45 through northern parts of Houston, state highway officials also are planning for the next round of road work. The Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled two public meetings, … Continue reading

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So what’s the deal with that I-45 deal?

Still to be determined. Houston, Harris County and the Texas Department of Transportation have an agreed path forward for rebuilding Interstate 45, and a lot of steps to get there. Details big and small remain works in progress and a … Continue reading

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The road construction chaos that we know of for 2023

Forewarned, forearmed, etc. A new year will mean major developments for some of the biggest highway projects in the region, but drivers should not expect them to be finished until 2024. The largest projects by the Texas Department of Transportation … Continue reading

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Agreement reached on I-45 expansion plans

I remain skeptical, but we’ll see. The bottleneck of design differences that has divided officials about remaking Interstate 45 north of downtown Houston is easing, officials said Monday, clearing the way for construction on the $10 billion project, perhaps in … Continue reading

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Abbott bans TikTok on state-issued devices

Honestly, I’m fine with this. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday a ban of the popular app TikTok from all government-issued devices. In a news release, the Republican said the Chinese government could use the app to access critical U.S. infrastructure … Continue reading

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If we can’t get high speed rail in Texas…

… At least we can maybe get some more Amtrak service. San Antonio residents finally may get new rail service connecting them to Dallas, Houston and Austin, according to a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) filing. In an Oct. 5 … Continue reading

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Too many bicyclists die on the roads around here

We should be more upset about this. More than 100 bicyclists have died on Harris County roads over the past five years, according to data from the Texas Department of Transportation. A Chronicle analysis of TxDOT roadway crash data found … Continue reading

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Is this enough lipstick for the I-45 project?

You decide. A downtown economic development group hopes proposed “green” and multimodal amenities will make the controversial I-45 expansion plan more palatable for the project’s critics. The multi-billion-dollar plan by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to widen and reroute … Continue reading

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Unifying the opposition to massive urban highway projects

Good idea, ought to have some effect, but changing the overall culture and philosophy about transportation in Texas is a very big lift. Opponents of some of Texas’ largest transportation projects are unifying their messaging, pushing state highway officials to … Continue reading

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More on A Tale Of Two Bridges

After I wrote about the effort to get two new bike and pedestrian bridges built in the Heights area, with the intent of making some new connections across the White Oak Bayou and to the existing White Oak Bayou Trail, … Continue reading

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Woodland Heights Civic Association opposes I-10 elevation proposal

That’s my neighborhood, and this is the email they sent out on Thursday about it. In recent weeks the WHCA has challenged TxDOT on their plan to elevate I-10 near our neighborhood between Heights Blvd. and I-45. Due to the … Continue reading

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Yes, let’s build more bike trail bridges

It’s all about connectivity. Stopping for a water break on the normal blistering-hot Houston day, bicyclist Reagan Smithers, 33, can see the tops of the trees along her street from the White Oak Bayou Trail. As the grackle flies – … Continue reading

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Elevating I-10

My antennae are up about this. A state proposal to elevate Interstate 10 near White Oak Bayou is raising concerns among neighbors, who worry about the effects a higher freeway would have on noise and drainage. The $347 million project, … Continue reading

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TxDOT sued over its enviromental impact assessments

Very interesting. After college, Michael Moritz got a job in Houston analyzing fatal car crashes. Moritz, a 27-year-old native of San Antonio, stood on Interstate Highway 45, one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the country, and documented … Continue reading

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If the only choices are “take it or leave it”, well…

Leave it doesn’t sound so bad given the alternative. One year ago, opponents of the state’s plan to rebuild Interstate 45 in Houston criticized the “take it or leave it” option state officials offered regarding amending plans for the mega-project. Tuesday, as … Continue reading

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