H-GAC officials oppose removal of Grand Parkway from Texas transportation plan

The Houston Chronicle ^ | July 26, 2019 | Dug Begley

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Houston-area transportation officials are not going to lose southern segments of the Grand Parkway without a lot of fuss.

Members of the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Transportation Policy Council on Friday unanimously approved a resolution urging the Texas Transportation Commission to keep Grand Parkway segments B and C and other related projects in Texas’ 10-year transportation plan. The segments represent the southern portion of the Houston area’s third ring road, carrying the tollway from Interstate 69 near Sugar Land south through Fort Bend, Brazoria and Galveston counties, intersecting with Texas 288 and Interstate 45 near League City.

Texas Department of Transportation officials, citing political demands to reduce the state’s reliance on tolls to build roadways, have identified four proposed tollways for “possible removal” from Texas’ 10-year transportation plan.

“The issue is, they are being pressured not to participate in any toll projects,” said Alan Clark, director of transportation planning for H-GAC.

The Grand Parkway has been developed as a toll road, meaning no state funds will go to it, but the state will borrow money and repay it with revenues from tolls.

Southern segments of the Grand Parkway and ramps in Fort Bend County and Chambers County were slated for removal from the Unified Transportation Program, along with two toll roads planned in the Rio Grande Valley.

The Grand Parkway segments are not scheduled for construction, but remain a high priority for officials in the areas the tollway would cross. They vigorously opposed the plan to remove the Grand Parkway portions before the state transportation commission in Austin on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday at H-GAC. Counties and cities along the route passed resolutions this month strongly opposing removal, and were joined by state lawmakers in speaking out.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING!

[BobL]

Thanks Tol. Of course they could raise the tolls by 25% on the rest of the Grand Parkway (which, at least now, are very low by modern toll road standards) and then build the final leg.

So they’re obviously playing politics here.

[lightman]

Multilane pay-to-play parking lots...what every major city needs.

/s

[TropicanaRose]

Who are we voting for for mayor this year Houston conservatives?

(The general election that is...for the runoff we’ll vote for whoever is left standing against Turner.)

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

That road will eventually become a parking lot, due to rapid growth and the fact that the skinny ROW won’t allow more than one additional lane in each direction. They will eventually have to send the tolls to the moon to keep people moving.