Guest Plastic Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Everyone's all down on the fact that The Westpark Tollway can't be expanded. That's not true. If they were to put all the electrical lines one ontop of eachother and move them all the way to the edge we could fit commuter ril tracks and more lanes of highway;You statte this as the reson the NW tollway can't get built. I sat wrong. If you move the electricity vertically or put it in 1 superwire it solves that. NOw teh soloution that other cities use is double-decking. COuld use it one The Westloop, North Freeway, SW Fwy, and Westpark Tollway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Everyone's all down on the fact that The Westpark Tollway can't be expanded. That's not true. If they were to put all the electrical lines one ontop of eachother and move them all the way to the edge we could fit commuter ril tracks and more lanes of highway;You statte this as the reson the NW tollway can't get built. I sat wrong. If you move the electricity vertically or put it in 1 superwire it solves that. NOw teh soloution that other cities use is double-decking. COuld use it one The Westloop, North Freeway, SW Fwy, and Westpark Tollway.Well now it is too late, because the tollway is complete and the exits are done, so I doubt they want to rip it apart and redo all of the tollway again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Plastic Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Noo I mean they say it can never be expanded. I'm just pointing out that's simply not true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Noo I mean they say it can never be expanded. I'm just pointing out that's simply not true.True, but as new as it is, it won't happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Well now it is too late, because the tollway is complete and the exits are done, so I doubt they want to rip it apart and redo all of the tollway again.they are having quite a few structural issues with it too. major cracks have appeared on several portions. BAD engineering IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 Anything is possible. It has to be expanded it's that simple. Double decker seems too far fetched but who knows? I drive along the lower part everyday and it is so ugly that they may as well widen NOW. Its inevitable. I'll put the 1st shovel in the ground! > meet you all out there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorAggie Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 (edited) they are having quite a few structural issues with it too. major cracks have appeared on several portions. BAD engineering IMO.Come again? HCTRA got something wrong? Is Earth upside down today? Edited May 17, 2007 by GovernorAggie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 (edited) Come again? HCTRA got something wrong? Is Earth upside down today? He was referring to the news story the other day on big gaping cracks that have appeared along the tollway. They say they don't know how they got there or what is creating them. It looks like the San Andreas fault is running all along the side, like what you would see after a 6.5 tremor. Here comes the blame game. Oy vey once again! Edited May 17, 2007 by Vertigo58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 He was referring to the news story the other day on big gaping cracks that have appeared along the tollway. They say they don't know how they got there or what is creating them. i guess the county is scrambling to get structural engineers out there to see if they can shore up the pieces of the tollway so that more damage doesn't occur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urban909 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 i HATE the westbound exit to get onto the N. beltway. what an absolute mess and mistake. ugh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CE_ugh Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 The Post Oak extension of the Fort Bend Tollway will probably be made out of stone and cowpoop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxConcrete Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 they are having quite a few structural issues with it too. major cracks have appeared on several portions. BAD engineering IMO. This was on the agenda for last Tuesday's meeting of Harris County Commissioner's cour"Recommendation for authorization to negotiate with H2B, Inc., for a geophysical investigation of pavement cracks on the Westpark Tollway."I haven't seen the cracks myself, but it's obvious that the tollway was built on the cheap and I wouldn't be surprised if some kind of corner-cutting is the culprit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 This was on the agenda for last Tuesday's meeting of Harris County Commissioner's cour"Recommendation for authorization to negotiate with H2B, Inc., for a geophysical investigation of pavement cracks on the Westpark Tollway."I haven't seen the cracks myself, but it's obvious that the tollway was built on the cheap and I wouldn't be surprised if some kind of corner-cutting is the culprit.the news made it sound urgent as if cracks of that size would take at least a decade to develop. hopefully they can find a way to stabilize the roadway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Plastic Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 One are they ever going to make any flyovers that will cocnnect to 610. I also heard they're gonna extend it inside the loop. Hope they elevate that part, we can run the train down it. WIll it connect to 59 at the end?Then inner part isn't ugly. Now the out part, will development ever startoff along it. I see a Walgreens and lots of houses. It could make another Park& Ride Possible.Do they have national tag? I see Texas tag which allows you to use EZ tag in Dallas, but does it work iout of state? If so truck drivers could use it and the new Katy Freeway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 One are they ever going to make any flyovers that will cocnnect to 610. I also heard they're gonna extend it inside the loop. "When" buddy, just trying to help, but this is just too much sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texas911 Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Whoever is in charge of tollway design should be fired on the spot. Also, on the 59S/BW8, the concrete on the feeder is super bumpy. Its brand new, and its clear it was done wrong. HCTRA should force the idiot contractor to fix it. We paid good money for it and it should be done right, but I'm afarid, there was probably some money under the table going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan the Man Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 The terminus of the tollway at 610 has to be one of the WORST intersections ever designed. During rush hour, East-bound Westpark drivers have to aggressively try to merge onto the exit ramp in front of the faster-moving tollway traffic, so that they won't get stuck behind other drivers trying to make un-protected left turns onto the 610 frontage road. People exiting the tollway usually want to turn left onto the 610 frontage road, so they have to get all the way over and manuver through all of the Westpark drivers merging to the right. My description probably sounds confusing, because this situation is a chaotic mess every day. Essentially, nobody is in the correct lane when entering the intersection. I have seen and been a part of many "near misses" while driving through here. When an accident does occur, traffic really backs up. Poor design is the bottom line - the tax payers really got screwed on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Plastic Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Wjy didn't they make flyovers at BW8. The Beltway already goes underground. It would have been easy to build ramps over it. For some strange reason the decided to go under. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHB2 Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 The terminus of the tollway at 610 has to be one of the WORST intersections ever designed...this situation is a chaotic mess every day...Poor design is the bottom line - the tax payers really got screwed on this one.just wait until the at-grade University Line intersects the Uptown Line right there and necessitates stop lights and crossing gates.every 3 minutes at peak hours. ~280-300 times a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CE_ugh Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Wasn't the Westpark Tollway built entirely with toll revenues, anyway. I know for a fact they didnt recieve any Federal money (hence the purple signs). That would account for the lack of oversight in the design and construction process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 The terminus of the tollway at 610 has to be one of the WORST intersections ever designed. During rush hour, East-bound Westpark drivers have to aggressively try to merge onto the exit ramp in front of the faster-moving tollway traffic, so that they won't get stuck behind other drivers trying to make un-protected left turns onto the 610 frontage road. People exiting the tollway usually want to turn left onto the 610 frontage road, so they have to get all the way over and manuver through all of the Westpark drivers merging to the right. My description probably sounds confusing, because this situation is a chaotic mess every day. Essentially, nobody is in the correct lane when entering the intersection. I have seen and been a part of many "near misses" while driving through here. When an accident does occur, traffic really backs up. Poor design is the bottom line - the tax payers really got screwed on this one. Couldn't have said it better myself. As you wait at the light glance in the rearview mirror and see all the autos switching over at the last second and slammming on the brakes. Nerve wracking to say the least. I dont need more any more whiplash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxDave Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 It always seemed to me that the Westpark Tollway was squeezed in with the least effort possible (or perhaps it is all they could get away with). But it sounds like the demand is there for something better.When I lived in Houston, I lived right next to Westpark for a while when there was still a railroad there. Back then, the cooridor was considered as a rail line, however at some point, someone convinced the powers that be to turn it into a (seemingly insufficient) toll road.Perhaps the existing infrastructure would be one of the best candidates for road to rail conversion. Otherwise they might want to consider raising the toll significantly to thin out the traffic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 Perhaps the existing infrastructure would be one of the best candidates for road to rail conversion.unless cars suddenly disappear, i don't see this happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxConcrete Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 Perhaps the existing infrastructure would be one of the best candidates for road to rail conversion.A 50-foot-wide corridor was set aside along the entire toll road length for future rail/transit. That is the main reason why the toll road is so narrow. If rail were to be built, the toll road would be unaffected.If HCTRA could have purchased the entire corridor, we would probably have a wider tollway, or at least a tollway which could be widened. So it is accurate to say that the traffic congestion on the tollway partially results from the transit set-aside.Metro (transit authority) appears to have no plans for using the transit strip west of the Hillcroft transit center anytime soon. And by anytime soon, we're talking the next 30 years. But that could change, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 They need to address the exit and entrance ramps. Those are where the traffic bottlenecks occur. I think problem in the design is the presence of Westpark Dr. next to the tollway. They tried to build around it and the result was pretty bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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