Freeways in the Early Days

[jupitercrisis]

I'm wondering if anyone has a resource on how freeways were constructed in their inceptions. I don't mean the physical construction, but how decisions were made where to build, what would get torn down, early expansions, etc.

[Subdude]

You're in luck. The expert belongs to this board (Max Concrete). The definitive source is the book "Houston Freeways" by by Erik Slotboom. It has everything you want.

[MaxConcrete]

I'm wondering if anyone has a resource on how freeways were constructed in their inceptions.

As SubDude mentioned, you can find the history of all freeways in the book Houston Freeways which is available for free download.

http://houstonfreeways.com/ebook.aspx

To give you a quick and easy answer, freeways tend to follow the path of least resistance. Generally speaking this means the following precedence

1. Build across open, undeveloped land

2. Build along existing corridors

3. Build along railroads or former railroads

4. Build where property values are low (prior to the early 1970s, this could translate to low-income areas)

5. Build where the land will be donated.

I'm sure the same is true elsewhere.

A few examples

* The Gulf Freeway was built along the former Galveston-Houston Electric railway alignment. The city of Houston bought out the railway in 1940 mainly to get the corridor land.

* The Southwest Freeway was aligned as much as possible to use open and donated land. One example is the curve around the water tanks near Stella link. The alignment was changed in 1954 to take advantage of an offer from Frank Sharp and other landowners who donated all the right-of-way from Westpark to Sugar Land.

* The South Freeway was realigned in 1959 away from its original alignment on Almeda Road because there would have been too many costly displacments along Almeda road, including impacts to the hospital and a bread factory.

* The North Loop mostly follows the alignment of Loop 137, a highway route designated in 1942. The South Loop, originally slated to follow Holmes Road, was realigned to the then open land where it is now. The West Loop was slated to follow the existing Post Oak (Rice Blvd was also a potential candidate in Bellaire). The East Loop was realigned at least once to avoid industrial facilities that were built during the planning process.

* Interstate 10 follows the former railroad and the then-US 90 west of the Loop. Inside the Loop there was no existing corridor to follow so it took the most direct route.

* The Grand Parkway (west section) was aligned where it could use donated right-of-way

* Downtown freeways were built where there was a minimum of structures. Due to lack of funds for right-of-way, a narrow strip was acquired for the Pierce Elevated. As for the 59/288 merge where there were many structures, there could have been a slum-clearance element (I never found hard evidence, but TxDOT old-timers perceived a slum-clearance benefit.)

* The alignment of Beltway 8 was established by the mid-1950s to be almost entirely over unbuilt land. However, the alignment was changed at Jersey Village after that area urbanized and BW 8 followed a path with less resistance to the east.

* Hardy and Westpark toll roads are on railroad corridors.

[Heights2Bastrop]

The first section of the Gulf Freeway was completed on September 30, 1948. I was born in February of that year. That means that all of the freeways in Houston were built in my lifetime.

My GAWD, that

[jm1fd]

As SubDude mentioned, you can find the history of all freeways in the book Houston Freeways which is available for free download.

http://houstonfreeways.com/ebook.aspx

YAY! I've been wanting to read this book for a while, but couldn't bring myself to pay $175 to $1,879.57 for it.

[HoustonianInColorado]

Let me add my thanks to Eric Slotboom for his fantastic book! I didn't get in on it during its published run, so I am glad it is at least downloadble. Nicely done, well researched, and the photos bring back floods of memories to me. I largely grew up in Houston (Bellaire and Sharpstown), and spent many adult years there as well, and have always been a bit of a road geek, so I really appreciate this book!

Eric, how about considering a second print run?

[torvald]

You're in luck. The expert belongs to this board (Max Concrete). The definitive source is the book "Houston Freeways" by by Erik Slotboom. It has everything you want.

good lord, this forum has at least one expert in everything...

(i mean that in a good way)

[MaxConcrete]

Let me add my thanks to Eric Slotboom for his fantastic book!

You're welcome - I'm glad I can make it available to anyone and everyone who is interested. Download and hits on www.HoustonFreeways.com remains steady even though I expected it to be in decline by now.

There's no chance for a second print run. It's just not economically viable. I was hoping the free online version would deflate prices in the used book market, and it did for a while, but it looks like the asking prices are quite high again.

[sevfiv]

i must be lucky to have a copy - i can't believe they are so expensive now!

[energyman2005]

MaxConcrete-

You seem like the guy to go to regarding existing and future freeway information.

I'm looking for renderings/models of the new I-10/I-610 Interchange. I have seen the schematic but it does not have the information I'm looking for.

I'm trying to determine if there will be new access to Old Katy road off of I-610.

Do you know if the new interchange will have continuous frontage roads when completed??

Thanks

[citykid09]

You're welcome - I'm glad I can make it available to anyone and everyone who is interested. Download and hits on www.HoustonFreeways.com remains steady even though I expected it to be in decline by now.

There's no chance for a second print run. It's just not economically viable. I was hoping the free online version would deflate prices in the used book market, and it did for a while, but it looks like the asking prices are quite high again.

You're Eric Slotboom?

Why is the HOV lane so big? Will METRO light rail run down the middle?

[TheNiche]

MaxConcrete-

You seem like the guy to go to regarding existing and future freeway information.

I'm looking for renderings/models of the new I-10/I-610 Interchange. I have seen the schematic but it does not have the information I'm looking for.

I'm trying to determine if there will be new access to Old Katy road off of I-610.

Do you know if the new interchange will have continuous frontage roads when completed??

Thanks

Renderings that I'm aware of are located here. I've got one of the Beltway interchange, but not of the 610 interchange.

http://www.katyfreeway.org/aesthetics/corr..._aesthetic.html

http://www.energycorridor.org/I10-update/default.asp

MaxConcrete-

You seem like the guy to go to regarding existing and future freeway information.

I'm looking for renderings/models of the new I-10/I-610 Interchange. I have seen the schematic but it does not have the information I'm looking for.

I'm trying to determine if there will be new access to Old Katy road off of I-610.

Do you know if the new interchange will have continuous frontage roads when completed??

Thanks

Renderings that I'm aware of are located here. I've got one of the Beltway interchange, but not of the 610 interchange.

http://www.katyfreeway.org/aesthetics/corr..._aesthetic.html

http://www.energycorridor.org/I10-update/default.asp

[ssullivan]

Why is the HOV lane so big? Will METRO light rail run down the middle?

No, there's no plan to run light rail in the middle of the Southwest Freeway. And in that picture, the barrier between the northbound lanes and the future HOV lane is the temporary barrier put up during construction that separated the temporary southbound lanes from the work zone. That barrier was moved last weekend during the process of opening the new northbound lanes. The space for the HOV lane is not quite as wide now as it was.

[ConstructionManagerMAS]

I really get a kick out of those old photos that show the newly built freeways just after they opened. A few 50's and early 60's model cars flowing smoothly in each direction. No delays in sight. Progressive engineering has conquered the traffic monster.

Doesn't happen that way anymore, it appears.

[TheNiche]

I really get a kick out of those old photos that show the newly built freeways just after they opened. A few 50's and early 60's model cars flowing smoothly in each direction. No delays in sight. Progressive engineering has conquered the traffic monster.

Doesn't happen that way anymore, it appears.

Sadly, progressive engineering died along side TXDoT's ethics. I spoke with a former engineer that was on the Spur 527 reconstruction project. According to her, she protested when TXDoT higher-ups manually altered the objective traffic flow data provided by the Texas Transportation Institute at A&M in order to suit some odd political objective. She wasn't perfectly familiar with the motive, but does know that it was influenced by the 'powers that be' within the political realm. She was subsequently booted from the project and couldn't gather any evidence of the corruption because the data had literally been overwritten...there was no record of the true figures at all.

So, sadly, Houston is stuck with a crappy Southwest Freeway for another few decades, at the very least.

[TJones]

This movie has a little insight on the early "freeways" but i don't know how helpful it really is.

Edited December 26, 2006 by TJones

[Mark F. Barnes]

The first section of the Gulf Freeway was completed on September 30, 1948. I was born in February of that year. That means that all of the freeways in Houston were built in my lifetime.

My GAWD, that

[Subdude]

This movie has a little insight on the early "freeways" but i don't know how helpful it really is.

There is (or was) a periodical at the Houston Public Library called Houston Quarterly (or something like that). I read an article once, were they interviewed a retired Houston planner from the 1940's. It was very interesting with probably some of the same information that freeways.com has. There was one dialog explaining how Allen Parkway was supposed to cross Buffalo Bayou and merge with Buffalo Drive (now Memorial Dr.) west of Sheperd Dr. The property owners on Tiel Way in River Oaks objected heavily to this plan, so it never happened. Also the Katy Freeway/West Loop interchange was supposed to be east of the present one were property had already been acquired but the Bayou Club, and polo field would have been obliterated using this plan so the interchange was moved west. Wonder why TXdot chose the land on Washington Ave for it's branch offices? 'cause they already owned it.

Someone on here posted a map of Houston's 1942 major thoroughfare plan that I believe might have come from the Texas Freeways site. It does show an extention of Buffalo Drive at Waugh across the bayou to Memorial, as well as numerous other proposals such as the Montrose connection to Studemont. This was pre-freeway, so the focus of the plan was creating a grid of major streets to move traffic.

[sevfiv]

This movie has a little insight on the early "freeways" but i don't know how helpful it really is.

ha - well, that might resemble houston in the late thirties and early forties (cloverleaf wanting to rip out the red car). problem is, in houston, it really happened

i posted this quote from roger rabbit in some other thread (here's more of it):

Eddie Valiant: Freeway? What the hell's a freeway?

Judge Doom: Eight lanes of shimmering cement running from here to Pasadena. Smooth, safe, fast. Traffic jams will be a thing of the past.

Eddie Valiant: So that's why you killed Acme and Maroon? For this freeway? I don't get it.

Judge Doom: Of course not. You lack vision, but I see a place where people get on and off the freeway. On and off, off and on all day, all night. Soon, where Toon Town once stood will be a string of gas stations, inexpensive motels, restaurants that serve rapidly prepared food. Tire salons, automobile dealerships and wonderful, wonderful billboards reaching as far as the eye can see. My God, it'll be beautiful.

>and at the end of the movie, when judge doom is dying:

Eddie Valiant: That lame-brained freeway idea could only be cooked up by a Toon.

Edited December 28, 2006 by sevfiv