JLWM8609

The new bridges will be longer, but I think the new length will come from the other side where more ROW will be taken.

Yep, that's it.

Is that a typo or will they really rename Rothwell/Nance between N. Main and McKee to Lyons Ave.? Why not call it Nance all the way to N. Main for consistency? I don't think Lyons ever historically ran to N. Main in that location if at all in the pre-freeway days.

Tony Gullo has one in his personal collection in Magnolia. I was afraid to look at it the wrong way lest it fall apart!

That was back when their fleet was comprised of a lot of older MD-80s. They've all been replaced with newer Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft.

There are plans for an eventual W. Airport overpass. It was seen here in the schematics for the US90A freeway in the early 2000s: http://www.texasfreeway.com/Houston/schematics/90a/images/90a_7_west_airport.jpg You can see the stubouts for the eventual connection on the EB feeder https://goo.gl/maps/f4NH56ebsgQg58Fy8

It sounds like they're completing the gaps in the feeders between S. Main and W. Orem going by the description, but those gaps are less than 1/2 mi, and should be WAY less than $350m.

That's correct about the toll road extension, but the viaduct replacement is a TxDOT project.

It already runs below the freeway. But, if you mean trenching it below the feeder roads, that would be neat. That whole intersection can become a mess even outside of rush hour.

HCFCD is hosting a virtual Almeda Bridge Community Engagement Meeting on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. https://www.projectbrays.org/all-segments/segment-2/about-almeda-rd-bridge/

Is there a diagram showing how this will be incorporated into the big I-45 relocation project? It dips into part of it.

There's a post earlier in the thread by MaxConcrete that had links to the schematics, but the website that hosts the images is down. Those would help even though Houston drivers like to seem to take them out, but what they really need to do is add Chenevert to the I-69/US 59 exit sign from the toll lane as well. Signage clarity is lacking in some aspects of this project.

Here's a few problems I've noticed from this project. 1. They placed a brand new I-610/Hurricane Evacuation Route sign on 288 NB at Bellfort, but the arrow on the sign points to the right toward the old exit location even though the exits to 610 have been moved to the left. Link showing the sign not present during construction: https://goo.gl/maps/vALTD5Ex7FLwY5PQA 2. The highway sign pavement markers at 288NB and I-69/US 59 say TX-59 instead of US 59. 3. At the same interchange, the pavement markings and the overhead signs don't match. The pavement and a sign shows the 2 left lanes will take you to I-45. In actuality, the #1 left lane turns into a lane that allows you to either go to I-45 or exit at Chenevert, while the #2 left lane is an exit only lane for Chenevert. Pavement says this lane will take you to I-45, but the overhead sign says otherwise. Driving along, you enter the #2 lane to access I-45 based upon this sign and the pavement marking in the previous photo. The next sign shows your lane is going to Chenevert instead of I-45. Exit only? You'd better get over now if you want to get on I-45. Forget what that sign said 1/2 mile ago!

Just hope they didn't pick the same contractors that did the Ardmore St. bridge for Harris County Flood Control District. Opening was pushed back almost 2 months because they had to redo the deck.

I'm not challenging you, but why is HTX considered controversial? Is it the same reason why EaDo makes people cringe?

https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerPrecinctOne/posts/1778261569010117 I guess I'm late, but you can't embed FB posts here?

In a pleasant surprise, the Ardmore St. bridge opened to traffic up this morning.

That's my parents' front yard on the right. People did frequently go the wrong way on S. MacGregor before the bridge project started. People would turn into their driveway to u-turn or do a crude 3-point turn in the middle of the street, blocking traffic and go the right way, or they sometimes even get as far as the curve in the bend between Ardmore and W. Leland Anderson St. before hitting someone head-on or turning around. My mom remembers when they restriped the streets. She left home one morning in 1980 or 1981 and came back that evening and found out she couldn't get back in the driveway because the street was now one way. They had to take a a circuitous route using the 288 feeder roads or go through those back streets where the psychiatric center is now if they were coming from east of Ardmore. Plans in the 1970s called for N. and S. MacGregor to be one way between Almeda and Calhoun with bridges built between Ardmore and Scott and between Scott and Calhoun to allow for u-turns. Some say it was part of an even larger long term plan to eventually turn the area into a giant research campus between the Medical Center and UH. Under then District D Councilman Anthony Hall, a compromise was reached and the one way terminated at Ardmore. But back to the bridge. It's still not open. The contractors appear to be doing work on the sewer lines again. There's a hole dug in my parents' yard now as well as on the bank of the bayou. I guess they messed up on that, too. The Buffalo Speedway Bridge is closing on January 18th, and last time I checked, the same contractor for the Ardmore and Stella Link bridges won the bid on that project, too. At this rate, I guess we can hope for a February opening maybe? I also think this Ardmore delay is delaying the start of the Almeda and Calhoun bridge projects. You can see workers starting to stage at Almeda.

Turns out I've known @Specwriterfrom another organization since before I joined HAIF. It wasn't until a few years ago that we put two and two together and realized it and met up for lunch.

They swapped out the distinctive white strobe aircraft warning lights at the end of the needles with red LED lights that flash alternatively.

I asked HCFCD about an underpass at Ardmore before they started construction and they said no. I can't remember if their excuse was based on engineering or they pulled the "we're not in the business of transportation" card.

Considering that they got rid of the slip turn lane at N. MacGregor and 288 to eliminate a conflict point between cars and pedestrians going to the new HEB, it puzzled me that they included this U-turn lane in the plans for the Ardmore bridge. I've lived near that corner 30+ years and there's always pedestrian and bicycle traffic there. The u-turn lane is unfortunately adding another conflict point between cars and pedestrians/cyclists. I made it known that I was against the u-turn lane for that reason, but Harris County wouldn't budge on changing the plans. In fact, Harris County didn't ask our neighborhood for input when the bridge was in the planning process, and initially only gave us a few weeks advance notice of the bridge closure, which led to a 6 month delay of the start of project. Considering the contractor screwup, this new bridge has been a clusterf from square one. I'll be glad when it opens so I won't have to take a neighborhood tour every time I need to get to 288.

To be fair, there were a lot of rural landowners who were opposed to the failed, quarter mile wide Trans Texas Corridor that included two separate highways within its ROW (one for cars and one for trucks).

From 2005... https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=309083

Oof! I hope nobody got hurt.