re: West side Expressway with new bridge ( aka Loop) gaining traction

didnt realize you had to sign in to read it:

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Cattle wrangling among challenges of parkway construction project
In about a year, the new segments of freeway will connect Katy to Spring

By Dug Begley

July 25, 2014 | Updated: July 28, 2014 8:49am

A 123,000-pound girder is placed on the Rothwood Road bridge in Spring along the Grand Parkway.
Gary Coronado, Staff

A 123,000-pound girder is placed on the Rothwood Road bridge in Spring along the Grand Parkway.

The sound comes from all directions if you're standing atop a mound of dirt overlooking Interstate 45, less than a mile from where the trees and subdivisions of Harris County give way to the trees and subdivisions of Montgomery County.

Below, traffic whizzes along I-45 in neat clusters. In 30 minutes, it'll slow to a crawl with the end of the work day.

Progress Along The Grand Parkway
After one year, crews have made significant progress on the next three segments of the...


In a year or so, the spot will shift from work zone to major commuter route as crews complete the next 38 miles of the Grand Parkway, extending the tollway from Katy to Spring and adding what officials call a critical link in the regional road system.

Since construction began a year ago, crews have made significant progress on the $1.1 billion project extending the parkway from U.S. 290 northeast to U.S. 59 north of Humble. Property acquisition - which began around the same time - is 75 percent complete. That's plenty to keep construction on track, officials said.

"We're not out of the woods, but we are in good standing," said Raquelle Lewis, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation in Houston.

The state is working with the project's contractor, Zachry-Odebrecht Parkway Builders, to simultaneously design and build the project.

To handle one of the largest road building projects in the nation, the builders have broken the project into dozens of construction areas.

East of I-45, trucks bounce along makeshift roads etched into acres of land stripped to dusty brown dirt, leveling the land in advance of road construction. To the west - past the towering, half-finished overpasses that loom over the freeway - you'll find the same cut in the earth, broken in bits and pieces with stands of trees and segments of road.

Smaller work sites

Looking east, construction of the Highway 99 bridge over Interstate 45 along the Grand Parkway northwest section Wednesday, July 23, 2014, in Houston, Texas. This segment of the SH 99 will connect Highway 290 with Highway 59. ( Gary Coronado / Houston Chronicle )
Gary Coronado, Staff

Looking east, construction of the Highway 99 bridge over Interstate 45 along the Grand Parkway northwest section Wednesday, July 23, 2014, in Houston, Texas. This segment of the SH 99 will connect Highway 290 with Highway 59. ( Gary Coronado / Houston Chronicle )

The overall project consists of smaller work sites at overpasses and along open stretches between major roads. The entire length is broken into three zones, each with a project manager, ranging from 11.9 miles to 13.6 miles in length.

"They're like children; each one has their special considerations," said Linda Merritt, spokeswoman for the parkway builders, a joint venture of San Antonio-based Zachry Construction and the international building firm Odebrecht.

The westernmost segment crosses largely undeveloped, flat, sometimes muddy land, while the central portion between Texas 249 and I-45 is primarily residential. The eastern piece is a mix of the two, Merritt said, and crosses the San Jacinto River.

None of the segments, however, is expected to stay undeveloped for long. Exxon Mobil's massive campus - which Harris County elected officials have said played a direct role in spurring the current construction after years of discussion - is one of many commercial projects in northern Harris County and southern Montgomery County.

With those booms in employment in the Spring-Woodlands area, new routes are imperative, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett told state transportation officials last month.

"For the people up there, and the ones moving in, this is the most important project we might do in their lifetime," Emmett said, noting Harris County already has a population greater than 24 U.S. states.

Mammoth task

Creating a new tollway - two lanes in each direction with a wide median, assorted entrance and exit ramps and an electronic system for assessing tolls - is a mammoth task. Workers will move 10 million cubic yards of dirt and pour enough concrete to make 11 NRG Stadiums.

About 1,000 of the 4,000 large concrete beams supporting bridges and ramps along the route are in place.

Though work is proceeding at a pace to open the lanes to traffic in late 2015, Merritt said there have been some glitches.

"There are a lot of surprises and a lot of elements that someone might not usually think about," she said. "We have found a (utility) line that wasn't on the map."

Crews also contended with cattle near Texas 249 when a less-than-effective fence failed to restrain the bovines and they wandered into the work area.

"So we had some cattle wrangling," Merritt said, laughing.

Less funny is the occasional problems workers have with drivers speeding through the work zone.

"It is frightening," Merritt said. "We had an incident where there was a closing and someone went around the barriers and speeding through a live construction area. They came close to hitting two of our guys. … Sometimes people lose good logic."

The most pressing problem when it comes to finishing the tollway, officials said, is weather.

"Our rainfall has been greater than usual," Merritt said. "And then if it's not too wet, it's dry."

When the dirt is too dry, workers have to spray it with water to tamp down dust so it does not blow around the area.

Cattle corralling

So far, the nearly round-the-clock work - and occasional cattle corralling - hasn't led to many complaints. Construction has slowed driving in her neighborhood north of Klein Oak High School, but Anita Woods said the tollway and other road improvements are certainly needed. Any annoyance will be outweighed by the long-term benefits, she said.

"It's nice to see the county, or the state, doing something to widen the roads," Woods said.

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I'm just glad the state of Louisiana prioritized their money and directed the dollars to that much needed bridge to nowhere in St. Francisville instead of utilizing those funds in a manner in which it could have really helped alleviate the traffic nightmare on LA 1 south of the bridge

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I'm just glad the state of Louisiana prioritized their money and directed the dollars to that much needed bridge to nowhere in St. Francisville instead of utilizing those funds in a manner in which it could have really helped alleviate the traffic nightmare on LA 1 south of the bridge

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SO TRUE....

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A four lane through-way Flyover from Livingston to West Baton Rouge Parish right North of the present I-12/I-10 corridor. Build it up high above the present roadway. Zero or only one or two local interchanges from before Denham Springs to past Port Allen. Make it a Toll road, through traffic will pay for it.

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And

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Maybe they can upgrade 190 B/W Port Allen and Opelousas to make that more of an option for trucks also. But I like your idea.

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From what I use to hear from my dad and his friends, something along these lines is what was suppose to happen. Which is one of the reason's they built I-110. There were no reason to build additional bridges. Folks really shouldn't even be comparing BTR to Houston or Laff because BTR has a MAJOR river to traverse. BTR was at one time trying to duplicate what Memphis has. Two bridges about 2-4 miles apart and the vast majority of the loop being on the east side of the river.

Now it's too late with everyone and every politician wanting either their piece of the pie or none of the pie in their backyard.

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that is pretty much what the northern toll road plan is. LINK

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I guess Im missing something here.

But who would pay to go out of the way like this proposal?