We successfully navigated the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Ara (MSA). Like most of the rest of the traveling South, we roared into Houston on Thursday and immediately upon getting into the downtown area, noticed that the traffic slowed to 2mph. Houston is the 5th largest metro area in the US, and the lack of planning shows. Why anyone would think that it is a good idea to put an interstate highway through the downtown area of any town is a mystery.
Back in the day, Texas tried to make a loop around the Houston metro. The old FM 1960 was a good attempt that was soon overtaken by commerce. Then Texas DOT decided that adding lanes was a good idea, as opposed to going out of town and building a new road that would take the interstate traffic around the metro area. That decision invariably led to the situation we have today, where two interstates come together in the shadow of the skyscrapers and a third freeway takes you toward the rapidly growing bedroom communities toward the southwest. In fact, Houston traffic is a damnable nightmare.
They are making the same mistake between Winnie and Beaumont to the east. Adding lanes simply creates construction zones, and I know for a fact that they have been working on I-10 through Beaumont for at least the last five years. They cannot add lanes fast enough, They should abandon the attempt. Eternal construction zones are not the answer.
This is not so much to get "down" on Texas DOT. They seem to spend a lot of money on roads, and they do tend to mitigate their disasters. When you cross the Sabine River into Louisiana you can see the result of a series of unmitigated disasters Don't get me started on the bridge in Lake CHarles, or the I-10/I-12/Airline Highway debacle in downtown Baton Rouge.
Quit building interstates through netro areas. Build then around metro areas.
Quit building interstates through metro areas. Build them around metro areas.
ReplyDeleteAMEN, PREACH IT!!!
The interstate road map was designed in the mid '50's when the US population was half what it is now, and the average family had only one car.
ReplyDelete"Baby Boomers were only 10 years old.
and it was designed to go from major population area to another major area
Going thru cities was generally easy back then.
Unfortunately, many states DOT did not see any reason to acquire or maintain land rights to build roads around their big cities or gain the easements for future widening of freeways in the future.
Building major roads is a long-term mind set, and fiscal budgeting process -- and too often cities/states cannot see past next years budget
Amen to that! THIRTY years of that crap in Nashville... sigh
ReplyDelete