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Hardy Toll Road Extension


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This will be slightly more convenient for drivers at best, but it's taking property out of an area that is improving due to the light rail. Seems like such a contradiction. As usual putting the highway through a minority neighborhood. Try putting it through piney point village or west university and see if it would go through. This is sad an unnecessary.

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There's no need for a freeway through the Villages, and the cost of land would make it prohibitive in any case. From the maps I've seen, the Hardy extension is not going to result in the loss of many properties, since it runs along the rail lines and through some areas near super fund sites that aren't ever going to be used for anything else.

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The Hardy extension slices through the 5th Ward, no?  I don't know how many residents there will be displaced by this project, but I'm certainty sympathetic with any older low-income folks who may be displaced from their homes.  

 

Aside from this project, my guess is that this area will ultimately "gentrify" in a similar way as the other wards.  (I.e., the local low-income residents will fight it, but ultimately the landowners will cash out and the land will be developed in the slipshod way it has been done elsewhere in Houston.  E.g., Fourth Ward, Washington Av. corridor.)

 

For now, I'll just say that SV's reference to Piney Point Village jogged my memory of the struggle the CoH (and Harris Co, if memory serves) had to extend San Felipe through Piney Point and Bunker Hill Villages.  For many years, San Felipe -- going west from Voss Road -- dead-ended at Buffalo Bayou.  There was no major E-W thoroughfare between Westheimer and I-10.  Despite being silk-stocking communities (and probably well-connected politically), they lost the battle.  Personally, I was sad to see some of the few remaining areas of quiet forest turned into a major commuter zone ... but it was for the good of the greater community.  

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Okay, sounds like you don't actually live in this area that is being affected by this construction... as a resident between the Woodland Heights and Northside Village, this is basically in my backyard. 

 

Most of the homes that have been torn down have been abandoned long ago. There are not very many people that are being affected by this extension. It's actually more of the factories along the railroad that have been hurt by this.

Next, this extension is mainly along railroad tracks.

Now I'm all for light rail but light rail hasn't even opened yet. There is ZERO property that has been improved thus far because of the light rail's north extension. Zero new townhomes. Zero new retail. Zero nothing. The ONLY thing I've heard of is a new senior citizen facility near Moody Park. That. Is. It.

Again, I'm so glad we finally got the light rail going through here but it's track record is zero new development for the north line... it is far too early and we'll have to see what comes, but I do believe it will bring new benefits and development to the area.

Back to the Hardy extension... Although convenience plays a part, that is not it's main focus. It's to improve the economy by lowering congestion. 

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Most commonly, gentrification happens in older residential areas. Less commonly, it’s former industrial areas without any Superfund sites, though there are examples of this throughout Houston.

 

But, I’m curious why the new light rail line is being expected to gentrify an area currently used as an industrial area, and which was cleared of most of the old residences more than a decade ago. This expectation is absurd since the most successful section of Houston’s light rail system (both current and future) is (and will continue to be) the current Red Line, and this has failed to spur redevelopment more than a few blocks on either side.

 

Plus, with the exception of St. Arnold’s, there are no attractions whatsoever to anchor redevelopment. Oh, plus there are tank farms. Those should attract yuppies to the area to buy townhomes like moths to a flame.

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  • 2 years later...
  • 3 months later...
13 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

 

Where did you see a 2020 start for the extension?

 

Quote

Eventually, Harris County toll road officials plan to extend the Hardy to downtown Houston. That work isn’t expected to start until 2020, however.

 

http://www.chron.com/news/transportation/article/Hardy-closing-this-weekend-for-EZ-TAG-conversion-8355087.php

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24 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

 

Gotcha.  Thanks.  So... roughly 50:50 chance of being correct.  ;-)

Hah. Very true. However, it does make sense for them to start around the same time that portion of I-10, 59, and I-45 are reconstructed since that whole intersection where Hardy will connect is due to be completely rebuilt.

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18 hours ago, BeerNut said:

You'd think they'd open up the I-45 and/or US 59 HOT lanes this weekend while the Hardy is closed to help accommodate the traffic that would otherwise use the Hardy as an alternate route, especially the IAH bound traffic.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 year later...
12 hours ago, HoustonMidtown said:

Plans moving forward for Hardy Toll Road downtown connector

https://abc13.com/4329362/

 

 

The extension is going to open this area of the downtown to much development. Rapid access to the airport will be a good selling point. This section of downtown is some distance from the downtown core but that should not be a major obstacle.

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5 hours ago, Luminare said:

I'm sure they aren't going to build the actual part of the tollway until the i45 reroute raps up their comments and finalize their designs. Both are suppose to work in tandem with one another.

 

Plans state construction of the tollway extension won't be complete until March 2023. The goal is to have the I-45 reroute around Downtown complete by 2026. There are stubouts in the current interchange to accommodate the Hardy extension, but I don't know if they'll briefly use them to access the Hardy extension until the new interchange is complete.

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7 minutes ago, JLWM8609 said:

 

Plans state construction of the tollway extension won't be complete until March 2023. The goal is to have the I-45 reroute around Downtown complete by 2026. There are stubouts in the current interchange to accommodate the Hardy extension, but I don't know if they'll briefly use them to access the Hardy extension until the new interchange is complete.

 

The more likely scenario is to simply connect to the completed Elysian Viaduct first and then I would assume they would add the connectors to I-69 later.

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  • 2 weeks later...
12 hours ago, MikeRichardson said:

Is it just me or do I vaguely recall hearing at one point in time that this connector was to be free of tolls?

 

And, now, of course, "tolls"?

 

A long time ago, 10 years or more, I recall seeing one or more reports that it would be toll-free. I seem to recall the connector was described as a long on-ramp to the existing toll road. But I don't know that there ever was an official plan or decision for it to be toll free.

I think the cost of the project escalated substantially, and that may have contributed to the addition of tolling.

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  • 1 year later...
24 minutes ago, BigFootsSocks said:

Last one to do is Quitmann and then construction can start. (I may be making that up but it sounds familiar)

Quitman already has a level crossing. Might be updated to an underpass at some point.

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