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ADCS

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Everything posted by ADCS

  1. ADCS
    Y'all are arguing that state-of-the-art research magically appears wherever a bunch of smart people cluster together, without any logistical concerns, and I'm the delusional one? That's rich.
  2. ADCS
    Lots of things are shipped all over the world in containers. They're the backbone of the modern global economy. You want a high-tech particle accelerator? It's probably going to be constructed in Germany or Japan. It's probably going to cost tens of thousands of dollars to get it shipped to you. Road/rail freight costs are about 3-4x sea freight costs, so the 170 miles it takes to get from the Port of Houston to Austin will add another 15-20% to the costs of shipment. Now, imagine you're having to make these sorts of purchases several times a year to keep up with the current state of the art in research, along with making your talent happy. Those 15-20% overruns start to add up. That's why being close to a seaport is important - every penny counts when you're running an operation that large.
  3. ADCS
    You mean Alexandria, right on the Mediterranean coast and the closest spot in the Nile Delta to Greece and Italy? I think you're making my point there more than refuting it. Also, the entire San Francisco Bay Area functions as an economically interconnected region, just as Greater Houston does. Its sea, road and rail connections are far denser and have a greater capacity than those between Houston and Austin. This in turn lowers transportation costs. San Jose is as far from San Francisco as Galveston is from Houston. I don't think anyone would disagree that we're tied to Galveston far more than Austin. Finally, connecting flights are expensive, and when you're having to budget for hundreds if not thousands of visitors a year, even a few hundred dollars a person can add up to quite a bit. This is especially the case when you're having to ship delicate or fragile materials.
  4. ADCS
    Saving money on bringing top experts into town, along with shipping precision crafted tools and supplies, doesn't have a lot to do with research? Transportation is everything when it comes to harnessing brainpower.
  5. ADCS
    Houston doesn't exactly have the safest atmosphere at night. Can't oppose anything, such as brighter, clearer streetlights, that will change that atmosphere.
  6. ADCS
    I don't think there's much persuading to be done - the country folk don't like us city folk much, and they really don't like foreigners. Give them just a bit of rationalization and FUD, and they'll be frothing at the mouth in no time. Never mind the actual landowners who are impacted - they can't wait for the annual paychecks for the use of their land that go far beyond whatever productive use they'd get out of it. It's their neighbors who always have the strong opinions on the subject.
  7. ADCS
    More like the rich kid wants to build an office building in your neighborhood, you object to the perceived gentrification, he decides to let you help design the building, and you say "no way, but give me access to your bank account". It most likely is sheer, dumb coincidence. UT probably doesn't think about UH in its decisionmaking process nearly as much as you'd like them to. Austin isn't close to a major international airport, nor one of the largest seaports in the world. That's why Houston makes so much sense.
  8. ADCS
    Use the road a bunch and you'll get that connector in 5-10 years. It's all about finding the financing.
  9. ADCS
    “Taking property against a landowner’s will, especially land that may have been in the family for generations, is a serious matter. Because this is a state project, I am requesting your leadership in determining if Texas Central Partners has state eminent domain power. I question that it does," Brady wrote. Because if you don't like reality, just question it!
  10. ADCS
    Also, does anyone know the location of the old Champions Park and Ride? I couldn't find any references to it on Google.
  11. ADCS
    Yes, but they won't be parking lots with a freeway on top of them.
  12. ADCS
    It's easy to miss holes if you're passing at 5-10 mph like they're shown doing in the video. I'm thinking there are magnets in the pylons and at the bottom of the holes. That would make it a lot easier to put the pylons in, as you'd only need to get close.
  13. ADCS
    Did the contraflow pylons have magnets in them? That's the only way I can imagine it being as easy to stick into the roadway as it appeared.
  14. ADCS
    Look at the ramps - rather than use new rights-of-way, they repaved over the existing ramps. You can see how the HOV system simply took the existing contraflow system and moved it to a separated lane, instead of being completely reengineered. It's pretty interesting - some relics of the old contraflow system include the ramp configuration at Shepherd, and the routing of the HOV through the I-10 interchange (hugging the inside southbound lane).
  15. ADCS
    I found the following while poking around the internet: Fantastic shots of the old North Freeway. It's really interesting to see how the HOV system simply reused most of the existing contraflow infrastructure, particularly the complex Shepherd interchange. Thought y'all might appreciate this.
  16. ADCS
    Didn't we just pass two constitutional amendments because TxDOT had an extreme shortage of money? I'm pretty sure that's why the Grand Parkway is a toll road.
  17. ADCS
    You don't think something like this, adapted for the roadway curves and doubled for capacity, would be appropriate?
  18. ADCS
    If it was appropriate and served the functional purpose (extending the main span of the bridge and removing piers), then why not?
  19. ADCS
    I don't hate it, which is likely as good as it gets for the generic logo style.
  20. ADCS
    What bridge to nowhere problem? This is going to be the primary gateway to Midtown from north and west of Houston. There's nothing impractical about this - it's simply a matter of reducing the number of piers by using different bridge designs. In fact, it's particularly practical by opening up more usable space within a park.
  21. ADCS
    Why? It opens up the area underneath the bridge, i.e. the very valuable Buffalo Bayou park corridor, creating a more inviting and usable landscape. As Houston continues to grow in size and prominence, these are amenities that add considerable value to the area, along with increases in surrounding property values. No one is asking for something like the Margaret Hill bridge - an extradosed design, such as what we see for the I-35 feeders over the Brazos in Waco, would be an elegant solution providing for a long main deck and open area underneath the bridge, while maintaining a low profile.
  22. ADCS
    Gas tax revenue will go up, owing to the increase in consumption that low prices brings. Also, oil had been in the tank for a good nine months when the project was announced.
  23. ADCS
    I actually do think that it's possible to get the city, the Midtown TIRZ or the Parks District to throw some cash at the bridge project to enhance its visual and pedestrian impact. It's a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a signature addition to what has increasingly become Houston's capstone amenity. I'll certainly be asking around about how we can get funding for the project.
  24. ADCS
    Here are a few examples of curved bridges with cable-stayed designs: http://structurae.net/structures/bridges-and-viaducts/cable-stayed-bridges-with-curved-deck
  25. ADCS
    The integration may be better if they convert the bridge from a beam design to a more attractive arch or cable-stayed/extradosed design with a longer main span. It's the array of piers that causes the psychological barrier (more hiding spaces, more dangerous looking) rather than the deck itself.
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