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Upgrade US 59 to 6-lane freeway with frontage roads Texas Department of Transportation 1/12/2015 4:29:19 PM

Project Narrative

US 59 does not meet interstate standards and as such it does not fulfill the requirements of federal law. Federal law identified sections of US 59 from Laredo thru Houston to Texarkana for inclusion on the National Highway System (NHS) as part of High Priority Corridor (HPC) 20. Federal law also identified HPC 20 roadway sections as part of the future Interstate system. Essentially, federal law authorizes that when any roadway section on HPC 20 meets the Interstate design standards and is planned to/connects to an existing Interstate system by July 2037 that roadway section shall become part of the I-69 system. To advance the development and designation of the I-69 system in Texas in response to federal law, TxDOT determined that US 59 from the Montgomery/Liberty County Line to SH 105 in Cleveland, Texas does not meet Interstate standards as it is not a controlled access facility. As a result, there is a need to improve US 59 to meet Interstate standards and federal law. In addition, there are future safety issues for the existing roadway configuration. Northbound lanes will experience PM congestion to the extent that traffic making left turn movements at the existing crossovers backs-up onto the mainlanes. This presents a potential safety issue as fast moving traffic is unexpectedly required to stop/quickly maneuver to avoid the traffic back-up thereby increasing the potential for crashes with the mixing traffic types. Crashes from vehicles crossing the high-speed traffic are also expected to increase. US 59, north of Houston, is identified as a hurricane evacuation route that can accommodate contraflow during emergency situations. A bottleneck exists in this section of US 59 as it transitions from a 6-lane facility to a four lane facility thereby hindering traffic movements and rapid exodus during evacuations. The overall purpose of this project is to develop US 59 between Fostoria Road and SH 105 to an Interstate facility that would meet Interstate design standards as established in American Association of State Highway and Transportation Official’s (AASHTO) A Policy on Design Standards-Interstate System, 5th Edition (2005) and improve the safety of the traveling public during daily travel and under emergency situations, in a manner that is sensitive to the environment. Overall, the project purpose is to serve the community by addressing access and mobility needs of the affected communities. In support of this endeavor, the Texas Transportation Commission gave approval (July 26, 2012) to designate a segment of I-69, concurrent with US 59, from the Montgomery-Liberty county line to IH 610 North in Houston, a total distance of approximately 35 miles. This approval conforms with actions taken by the Houston-Galveston Area Council, AASHTO, and FHWA, all which had also approved the designation of the segment of US 59 through the project area as I-69. After construction, the proposed improvements would extend the I-69 designation nearly 4.3 miles from Fostoria Road in Montgomery County to SH 105 in Liberty County. After construction, the process for designating this section of US 59 as a section of I-69 would be made in accordance with 23 CFR 470.111 and Appendix B to Subpart A of Part 470 – Designation of Segments of Section 332(a)(2) Corridors as Parts of the Interstate System. The AASHTO Interstate Application would be prepared and submitted to the AASHTO Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering to petition that the improved US 59 highway be designated as part of the I-69 system in Texas. Proposed Improvements to US 59 include: • The project begins at Fostoria Road and ends at SH 105 • Construction/upgrade of the existing US 59 to meet current Interstate highway standards within the proposed project area that includes the existing ROW and approximately 19 acres of additional right-of-way (ROW) needed to widen the road and for approximately 5 acres for proposed stormwater detention basin. • Construct/upgrade US 59 to be a controlled access freeway with six lanes total, three lanes for travel in each direction with median dividers and one-way frontage roads (two lanes in each direction) that include sidewalks on the outside of the frontage road and an 8-foot-wide shoulder that could be used for bicycles. • Construct intersection improvements where US 59 crosses Pin Oak Road, Morgan Cemetery Road (i.e., County Road [CR] 379), and Gladstell Road. • Plan the US 59 improvements so proposed improvements would avoid the existing cemetery located within the existing US 59 ROW. • Upgrade and widen the US 59 bridge across the East Fork of the San Jacinto River near CR 383. • Avoid and minimize impacts and mitigate if needed for anticipated environmental effects of proposed construction. • Convey and control stormwater runoff so that stormwater would be conveyed through open ditches and storm sewers to existing outfalls, and the approximate 5-acre detention basin adjacent to Fostoria Road in Montgomery County. An alternative to the proposed improvement is "no-build". However, this would not address the stated need for the project as part of improvements for Interstate Highway I-69. Considering the relatively short length of this section of highway (about 4.3 miles), staged construction is not proposed.

Project Narrative

Yes

Scoping Mtg Minutes 2012_11_12.docx

Environmental Assessment (EA) Please Select Yes A USACE 404 individual permit will be required for this project. It is anticipated that the USACE permit will be acquired by August 1, 2017. 09/01/2016 Yes 25 06/01/2019 No Pipelines / utilities without a compensable interest will be required to relocate their lines at their own expense. No

A public meeting for this project was held on May 14, 2013 at the Cleveland Civic Center. The schematic for the planned improvement was presented to the public in an open-house format. An opportunity for a public hearing will be afforded at a later date.

Public Meeting Summary.pdf

The EA for this project is anticipated to provided environmental clearance in the Summer of 2015. In addition, the I 69 Advisory Committee and the I 69 Segment Two Committee, which were created by the Texas Transportation Commission in 2008 as a way to increase citizen and community input in planning for I 69 in Texas, selected this project as a priority project for all of Texas. As a result, the project the project has developed public support which will aid in its implementation with the public.

US 59 Schematic.pdf

Map/Location

US 59 0177-03-096 Map.mpk

Project Budget

US 59 H-GAC Project Budgets.xlsx

No

No

Evalutation Questions - Major Investments

Benefit/Cost Methodology

Please attach the completed BCA Excel worksheet and narrative explanation of analyses used

US 59 Combined PDF.pdf

Transmittal Letter.pdf

Narrative Benefits

The project would provide two interchanges and CD frontage road system to separate over half a dozen county roads and streets from the mainline. The interchanges would avoid the increasingly hazardous situation of traffic crossing US 59 at grade in the face of traffic volumes growing at roughly 2% per year. The project would also avoid mainline queuing (described under congestion) that would lead to increased accidents due to mixed speed traffic. Because of the interchanges, a crash reduction of 50% compared with existing conditions is assumed, leading to crash saving benefits of about $6 M per year, based on the most recent three years of crash data. Because current congestion is low in the corridor, with free flow on the mainline and LOS A at intersections, the current crash history likely under estimates the probably escalation in future congestion related crashes.

Simulation of the US 59/CR 381 intersection indicated that the NB-L movement would overflow and block one of the two NB lanes by the 2020 PM peak hour. Delay that would be avoided by the project is estimated for range from over 1,300 hours per day in 2020 and 2,300 hours per day in 2040 from mainline queuing and delay to entering and crossing vehicles. Annual delay cost savings would range from about $8 M in the 2023 opening year to about $19 M in 2042. Areawide circulation would be greatly improved by the project providing LOS D or better in the US 59 corridor throughout the sevice life. The PM peak hour average northbound queue at CR 381 without the project would range from 1,000 ft in 2020 to 10,000 ft in 2040. Comparisons are between the existing configuration and the 4-lane project, although widening to 6 lanes is planned.

Reconstruction of this portion of US 59 to interstate standards as I-69 would enhance the lifetime of the highway infrastructure in this corridor. The benefit/cost methodology does not account for the residual value of the investment after 20 years, but 30-year pavement live and a 50-75 years structural life would leave a fraction of the $73.5 M investment as a benefit after the analysis period.

The project will reduce the cost of travel on a designated major trade route with 13.4% trucks. Based on economic literature, reduction of delay costs of $8-$19 M per year plus crash savings on this I-69 route will translate directly to an improvement in the regional and national economy as well as the international competitiveness of the U.S. The investment of $88.7 M in YOE $ ($73.5 M in 2015 $) would also result in approximatley regional 720 engineering and construction jobs in terms of full time equivalents (FTE), spread over the design and construction period. Regional economic output is estimated to be $133 M with earnings of $36 M (2015 $). These values were estimated from a regional economic impact model for highway systems (REIMHS) developed by Rodifer and Politano for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, adjusted for inflation. See attached US 59 REIMHS Model Construction Jobs.xlsx.

N/A

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