Spur 5 Extension- Future Highway 35 To Alvin

[Luminare]

1 hour ago, JLWM8609 said:

When this extension is complete to Griggs, is it going to remain Spur 5 or is it going to be signed SH35? 

I don't think any name can beat I-69....when I mean "beat" I mean....nevermind

[cspwal]

14 hours ago, JLWM8609 said:

When this extension is complete to Griggs, is it going to remain Spur 5 or is it going to be signed SH35? 

It sounds like it will be signed SH35 according to the work document posted above

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

they need 17 acres of ROW... is this like one parcel owner who hasn't sold yet?

[samagon]

On 4/16/2022 at 12:35 AM, hindesky said:

From the YouTube video it ends at Dixie Dr.

so I guess most of the ROW acquisition is outside the loop. looking at the google maps satellite view they've already acquired most of the homes a long time ago. it looks like there's also a number of businesses as well.

I am curious how this project accomplishes any of the things it is stating it will accomplish?

• accommodate regional population growth (what is the defined region, and how does this accommodate that?)
• reduced traffic congestion within project area (again, what is the project area defined, and since when do freeways reduce congestion?)
• increase north/south mobility.
• increase hurricane evacuation capacity.

unless the freeway is going to be expanded to connect to BW8 and beyond, I don't see how this can accommodate regional growth, or north/south mobility, or hurricane evacuation capacity.

thanks to induced demand whatever congestion they reduce on day one of the project being open will be back within 3-5 years.

[hindesky]

@samagon I have a friend whose in laws lived in Pearland south of Broadway where all the lots are multi acre lots. 20 years ago he mentioned that the Hwy 35 was planned to go through the area and some of the neighbors a few houses down would lose their property for the right of way. Don't know if that is still the route though. I would suspect it would be alongside the railroad/Mykawa and maybe merge with the current Hwy 35 at some point and eventually end up in the Alvin area.

[august948]

1 hour ago, samagon said:

so I guess most of the ROW acquisition is outside the loop. looking at the google maps satellite view they've already acquired most of the homes a long time ago. it looks like there's also a number of businesses as well.

I am curious how this project accomplishes any of the things it is stating it will accomplish?

• accommodate regional population growth (what is the defined region, and how does this accommodate that?)
• reduced traffic congestion within project area (again, what is the project area defined, and since when do freeways reduce congestion?)
• increase north/south mobility.
• increase hurricane evacuation capacity.

unless the freeway is going to be expanded to connect to BW8 and beyond, I don't see how this can accommodate regional growth, or north/south mobility, or hurricane evacuation capacity.

thanks to induced demand whatever congestion they reduce on day one of the project being open will be back within 3-5 years.

Worst case scenario it's an alternate for UH students coming from the south and southwest.  Plus a shortcut into downtown.  They've already got the row, might as well go ahead and build it.  What's the real problem here?

[Big E]

My guess, the main reason its not being extended to Beltway 8 is because of the expensive ROW acquisition it would necessitate; there are multiple neighborhoods on both sides of the train tracks, and something is going to have to get taken out to get it to Beltway 8. By extending it to 610, they are offering an alternate way for people living in South Central Houston and those coming from the loop to get to downtown without forcing them to go all the way to I-45.

[samagon]

2 hours ago, august948 said:

Worst case scenario it's an alternate for UH students coming from the south and southwest.  Plus a shortcut into downtown.  They've already got the row, might as well go ahead and build it.  What's the real problem here?

I don't have a problem with it, overall the cost to build is really low because most of the ROW is already there. access from one side of the ROW to the other is already severely limited because of the RR, so aside from having a freeway in their backyards, this really won't affect the local community.

I just have a hard time understanding the stated reasons for doing it.

but I guess the actual answer of "we already own 99% of the needed ROW, and we have some extra concrete laying around, so why not?" isn't good enough, so they have to say that this is going to help with hurricane evacuations, and regional mobility.

I mean, I guess what I'm saying is that I have a hard time seeing how adding a 4 mile stretch of freeway between an already clogged i45 and an already clogged 610 loop is going to relieve any congestion?

other recently completed projects in the very near area give me pause that this is going to achieve the outlined goals at all, reference this thread 

 

Edited April 18, 2022 by samagon

[mattyt36]

Sounds like Sammy is arguing for this to go ahead and be extended all the way to Alvin with separate ingress and egress to downtown so that it is more effective at achieving its goals.

Consider me . . . wholly ONBOARD!!!!!  What a great new way to get to HOU!

[august948]

33 minutes ago, samagon said:

I don't have a problem with it, overall the cost to build is really low because most of the ROW is already there. access from one side of the ROW to the other is already severely limited because of the RR, so aside from having a freeway in their backyards, this really won't affect the local community.

I just have a hard time understanding the stated reasons for doing it.

but I guess the actual answer of "we already own 99% of the needed ROW, and we have some extra concrete laying around, so why not?" isn't good enough, so they have to say that this is going to help with hurricane evacuations, and regional mobility.

I mean, I guess what I'm saying is that I have a hard time seeing how adding a 4 mile stretch of freeway between an already clogged i45 and an already clogged 610 loop is going to relieve any congestion?

other recently completed projects in the very near area give me pause that this is going to achieve the outlined goals at all, reference this thread 

 

The stated reasons look like boilerplate language for pretty much any road project in the metro area.  This is going to take some of the pressure off I45 and 288 from the south side and give an alternate route into and out of downtown (and UH) from the south loop.  It seems like low hanging fruit that should have been done long ago.

[august948]

45 minutes ago, mattyt36 said:

Sounds like Sammy is arguing for this to go ahead and be extended all the way to Alvin with separate ingress and egress to downtown so that it is more effective at achieving its goals.

Consider me . . . wholly ONBOARD!!!!!  What a great new way to get to HOU!

Onboard with that as well, though the closest I ever get to Alvin is when my wife plays that d@mn song over and over during Christmas. 😉

[strickn]

I think SH35 will still be connected to the Gulf Fwy at Reveille / 610.

[samagon]

1 hour ago, strickn said:

I think SH35 will still be connected to the Gulf Fwy at Reveille / 610.

my guess would be if they ever connected the spur5 extension from 610 out to the BW and beyond they'd follow the RR alignment along Mykawa. Telephone/Reveille would be resignaled as 'business35'.

[hindesky]

$184 million to rebuild and expand the Loop 610 interchange with Texas 35, a key piece of a new planned freeway south from Houston toward Pearland.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/Texas-poised-for-record-80-billion-plus-in-road-17295480.php

[kennyc05]

3 hours ago, hindesky said:

$184 million to rebuild and expand the Loop 610 interchange with Texas 35, a key piece of a new planned freeway south from Houston toward Pearland.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/Texas-poised-for-record-80-billion-plus-in-road-17295480.php

I wonder if there are long term plans to recontruct the I-45 South and 610 interchange.

[MaxConcrete]

50 minutes ago, kennyc05 said:

I wonder if there are long term plans to recontruct the I-45 South and 610 interchange.

The are no existing plans to improve the interchange at 610 and the Gulf Freeway. However, the Gulf Freeway corridor has a study in progress to determine future improvements.

https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/get-involved/about/hearings-meetings/houston/071222.html

[kennyc05]

1 hour ago, MaxConcrete said:

The are no existing plans to improve the interchange at 610 and the Gulf Freeway. However, the Gulf Freeway corridor has a study in progress to determine future improvements.

https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/get-involved/about/hearings-meetings/houston/071222.html

I did not know I use that route going to work everyday near Ellington Field it's not in the worst shape between downtown in the beltway but it needs some work. I wonder if they have plans for expanding it?

[kennyc05]

2 minutes ago, kennyc05 said:

I did not know I use that route going to work everyday near Ellington Field it's not in the worst shape between downtown in the beltway but it needs some work. I wonder if they have plans for expanding it?

Nevermind it says no changes to existing roadway at this time.

[samagon]

On 7/11/2022 at 12:13 PM, kennyc05 said:

I wonder if there are long term plans to recontruct the I-45 South and 610 interchange.

they just finished updating ramps, and adding ramps that didn't exist on the north side of the 610/45 interchange.

i45 and 610 main lanes at the interchange are a different story, as well, the ramps on the south side of 610.

[kennyc05]

18 minutes ago, samagon said:

they just finished updating ramps, and adding ramps that didn't exist on the north side of the 610/45 interchange.

i45 and 610 main lanes at the interchange are a different story, as well, the ramps on the south side of 610.

I guess I should have asked do they have a plan to redo the whole interchange 

[hindesky]

"The first step of Houston’s next freeway is taking shape, provided highway officials finalize their plans for almost $94 million worth of work along Spur 5 near the University of Houston.

A project to extend the spur from its intersection with Interstate 45 to Griggs Road could start in the late spring, after bids on the project were opened in Austin last week, Houston-based Williams Brothers Construction, a mainstay in local road projects, was the low bidder at $93.9 million, slightly below what the Texas Department of Transportation estimated."

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/alvin-freeway-spur-university-17837047.php

[cspwal]

Hopefully at some point the Alvin freeway could be built, and then the 45/610 interchange demolished entirely and rebuilt in a way that it doesn't cause slowdowns in both directions all day on 45

[kennyc05]

1 hour ago, cspwal said:

Hopefully at some point the Alvin freeway could be built, and then the 45/610 interchange demolished entirely and rebuilt in a way that it doesn't cause slowdowns in both directions all day on 45

It needs a rebuild badly! That interchange is a mess!!!

[cougarpad]

Instead of taking the Grand Parkway though Alvin and a big right to dead end with 45 on the Dickson League City border( By the way Texdot like usual did not plan ahead with the widening of 45 and the bridge over 646 to allow room for ramps on and off parkway) the Grand Parkway should be implemented as part of the Alvin spur up towards Houston where it can be better designed to connect to 45 with off and on ramps.

[samagon]

rebuilding the Gulf/610 interchange was very recently just done. I think because this freeway (35) is eventually still planned they presume that when they do build it that it will relieve pressure on the Gulf/610 interchange and so they won't need to realign the main lanes of Gulf Freeway traffic to be more efficient once this is built, or at least it will relieve pressure for a bit and they can kick the can down the road.

as far as what they do need to worry about from an interchange perspective, and maybe I'm not thinking about it logically, but it seems to me that when this extension is completed the more beneficial interchange will be at 610, rather than 45.

my line of thinking is it will allow medical center workers an alternative to 288. 

35 > 610 > Almeda, or Fannin exit.

or 

35 > 610 > 288 toll > Holcomb exit.

inbound to downtown, unless the i45 realignment really changes traffic patterns seriously, currently, from the spur to 45 sucks for getting into downtown. if it were me (and actually, I did this quite frequently when I'd go from UH > downtown), spur 5, follow the signs for the 59 exit, then exit on Scott street and take the 45 feeder the rest of the way to Live Oak street and jog over to Leeland. and that was to get to my office in Chase tower. it was quicker to not even get on 45, and take streets through downtown to get to that area. once 45 is realigned, I just don't see how getting to that side of downtown on the freeway system is going to be any faster once you are in the area. exit as soon as you can and take surface streets. I really think if they want to have an additional freeway dump right into that, they will need to expand the main lanes on 45, at least until the 'downtown destination' exit.

outbound from downtown, right now, no one uses the spur 5 exit, so traffic in that lane is easy to get onto spur 5, but once it goes all the way to old Pearland? maybe it gets more crowded.

edit: I also think if they have an exit at Airport Blvd that it will also relieve a lot of airport traffic from 45, which as well will help immensely with the Gulf/610 interchange (and again, maybe a great reason for them to need to nail the 35/610 interchange).

Edited March 27 by samagon

[hindesky]

Noticed these silt screens around the future overpasses at Wheeler St. and University Dr. near UH. Assuming work will be starting soon.

[samagon]

I know they are using part of the spur ROW as a staging ground for the new lighting that is going up along the gulf freeway between the spur and 610, but that is farther up at University Blvd.

[samagon]

I think it's safe to say they are starting on this project. 

they have some earth tools on site now, and have moved some dirt around on the mound that is just north of University Avenue.

[hindesky]

[tigereye]

Ground breaking

 

[hindesky]

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2023/05/23/txdot-breaks-ground-for-8-lane-highway-between-gulf-freeway-and-610-south-loop/

 

[hindesky]

You can no longer get on the Spur from Old Spanish Trail heading northbound.

[hindesky]

[strickn]

Strange to see it after all these decades.

[Jay123]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/griggs-long-mykawa-rail-overpass-metro-18254783.php#photo-24074222 

[cougarpad]

Are there any parts on this alignment to connect UH Main Campus to the UH Energy Park? There are railroad tracks splitting up what could be a connection between the two site and make it all UH Campus connecting both sides. They would have to build a trench under the tracks or a bridge over the Spur to connect the the Energy Park to UH Main. I am surprised UH has not been in talks with the TXDOT and the city to find way connect the the Ernergy Park to UH Main via University Dr. Under or over the Spur 

Edited July 31 by cougarpad

[Big E]

2 hours ago, cougarpad said:

I am surprised UH has not been in talks with the TXDOT and the city to find way connect the the Ernergy Park to UH Main via University Dr. Under or over the Spur 

My guess: its too cost prohibitive and isn't really a priority, especially since you just need to travel an extra mile or so to find a crossing.

[Houston19514]

3 hours ago, cougarpad said:

Are there any parts on this alignment to connect UH Main Campus to the UH Energy Park? There are railroad tracks splitting up what could be a connection between the two site and make it all UH Campus connecting both sides. They would have to build a trench under the tracks or a bridge over the Spur to connect the the Energy Park to UH Main. I am surprised UH has not been in talks with the TXDOT and the city to find way connect the the Ernergy Park to UH Main via University Dr. Under or over the Spur 

 

57 minutes ago, Big E said:

My guess: its too cost prohibitive and isn't really a priority, especially since you just need to travel an extra mile or so to find a crossing.

Yeah, especially considering where University Dr. would cross under the railroad ---  about 17 sets of tracks.  Probably in the category of "not gonna happen".

[samagon]

there isn't a car capable connection, but there is a crosswalk at the pharmacy building that accesses the Brays Bayou Greenway, they even have a lane for golfcarts, so there's access for pedestrian, bike, or cart to the energy park via this greenway.

I confess I've only ever ridden past the energy park entrance on my bike, and haven't investigated how easy it is to access that section of campus from that trail, but it exists.

[august948]

15 hours ago, samagon said:

there isn't a car capable connection, but there is a crosswalk at the pharmacy building that accesses the Brays Bayou Greenway, they even have a lane for golfcarts, so there's access for pedestrian, bike, or cart to the energy park via this greenway.

I confess I've only ever ridden past the energy park entrance on my bike, and haven't investigated how easy it is to access that section of campus from that trail, but it exists.

I've walked that section a couple of times.  It's a really nice trail.  From the main campus you end up in one of the parking lots.

[hindesky]

Future overpass over OST.

 

Future bridge over Brays Bayou, overpasses on Wheeler St. and University Dr.

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

South side of the future overpass of OST.

 

North side.

 

Overpass over Wheeler.

 

Working on the south side of the future bridge over Brays Bayou.

 

Fill to elevate the road.

 

OST.