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Road to Less Congestion
Dallas-Fort Worth leaders have developed alternatives to the traditional financing mechanisms that built many of today’s highways. In past years, state and federal gas taxes could be combined to pay for the construction and maintenance of many of the freeways existing today. But as the region has grown and more emphasis has been placed on fuel efficiency, the traditional method of funding transportation, the gasoline tax,
has been insufficient to meet the increases in demand. Add the state’s transportation funding crisis and it’s easy to understand that more money is needed.
North Texas is prepared to navigate the winding road of transportation finance for years thanks to the leadership of regional officials. A major component of the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s strategy is the $3.2 billion Regional Toll Revenue initiative, the program resulting from the agreement with the North Texas Tollway Authority for the construction and maintenance of State Highway 121 being built in Collin and Denton counties.
Resources
Regional Toll Revenue
Funding Initiative
Managed Lane Brochure [PDF]
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When complete, the road will give residents of some of the region’s fastest-growing cities an important link to jobs and entertainment in other parts of the metropolitan area.
The Regional Transportation Council has approved funding for existing projects with cost overruns and new projects.
Additional funding will be sought from other toll roads and new managed lanes, high-occupancy vehicle lanes accessible to solo drivers for a fee. But not all projects will be as lucrative as State Highway 121. Thus, the solution to the region’s traffic problems will require a multimodal approach, relying on not only roads, but passenger rail service.
A more comprehensive rail system, being pursued by regional leaders, would complement the region’s extensive road system. But the $3.2 billion infusion gives the region an advantage over other areas of the country still struggling to find highway dollars in these challenging times. About $739 million is being used to expedite projects that might otherwise remain conceptual.
One example of this is the $303 million loan from the RTC to help the Texas Department of Transportation continue work on State Highway 161. The loan helped TxDOT begin construction of SH 161 in April 2008 and will be repaid with interest. This arrangement will allow the RTC to help complete other important projects in the future. For a more detailed breakdown, including the money outlying counties received, visit: www.nctcog.org/trans/rtr. |
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Web Site Provides Traffic Details
If you’re curious about just how congested your commute to work is – or you want information about
a particular intersection in the region – a new NCTCOG traffic Web site may be able to help.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments has developed the new Historic Traffic Counts Web site using the latest technology to display geographical data on the Internet. This Web site makes it easier to locate any address in the region and access detailed traffic-count data with the simple click of a mouse. The
new features include the capability to display the most updated street network and aerial photos of the region.
The new site provides a way to display the entire contents of the traffic-count database that NCTCOG has compiled from numerous locations in the region. Included in the data are traffic counts of different types, such as direction, vehicle classification, and whether a vehicle tuned right or left, or continued through an intersection. Information was compiled at 15-minute to 24-hour intervals.
Users can now compare traffic counts collected over time at the same location, allowing identification of growth trends or variations by day of the week.
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Resources
Traffic Counts
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With the detailed traffic count data by time of day, the new Web site makes it possible to identify when traffic is most congested during morning and afternoon rush hours. The classification data clearly identify the number of cars, buses, or trucks that circulate on a specific facility.
The traffic counts displayed on the Web site have been collected by several state and local agencies that participate in planning activities aimed at the development of the regional transportation system. Eventually, the detailed traffic count data that have been collected regularly by all cities and local agencies will be displayed on this Web site. The goal is for the Web site to provide all the traffic-count information planners and residents need.
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The new Web site and the latest traffic-count data can be viewed at: www.nctcog.org/trans/data/tcins/historic.
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Stationary Engines to Fall Under New Rule
Stationary engines operated in the nine county nonattainment area now have to comply with a new environmental rule. The rule requires record keeping, testing, and reporting to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) stationary engines operated in one place for more than a year.
Rich-burning gas-fired, diesel-fired, and dual-fueled engines had to follow the new rule by March 1. Lean burning gas-fired engines must be in compliance by March 1, 2010. Lean-burning engines are typically more efficient than rich-burning engines, but are less powerful. The rule will apply in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Tarrant counties. – Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
For information please visit the TCEQ Web site: www.tceq.state.tx.us/goto/nox.
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Answers to Recently Received Questions from North Texans
The following are examples from recent public meetings of questions and answers about regional transportation issues.
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Resources
Submit your answer to the question
above, learn more about alternative
commutes and Try Parking It.
Questions/Comments - Contact Us
More Transit
Most respondents to the poll in the
last issue of Mobility Matters said
the best way to reduce traffic
congestion in the Dallas-Fort Worth
area would be to increase access
to transit.
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Q: Interstate Highway 635 will undergo a massive expansion over the next several years, with the construction of new managed HOV lanes underneath the existing freeway. How many additional passengers will be able to travel on LBJ Freeway when construction is complete?
A: There will be an additional six lanes of traffic, and each lane can carry approximately 20,000 to 25,000 vehicles per day. If the additional capacity for high-occupancy vehicles is accounted for, passenger capacity of that roadway can essentially double.
Q: Could you elaborate on the LBJ-to-IH 35E project?
A: FWTAexas Transportation Commission recently selected LBJ Development Partners to finance, build and operate this project along 13 miles of Interstate Highway 635. The improvements have been planned for many years. On LBJ, managed lanes will be added between Luna Road and Greenville Avenue, east of U.S. Highway 75. The plans call for the addition of depressed managed lanes that could be used by solo drivers willing to pay for the convenience of reliable commutes. The project also includes elevated lanes along IH 35E connecting drivers to the new managed lanes.
Q: In Austin, the elevated freeways created a nightmare of air and noise pollution, whereas in Houston, this did not seem to be the case. Is that a result of design or just a different environment?
A: The HOV lanes in Houston are single-lane, reversible facilities. In Austin, there are two lanes in each direction on both the upper and lower facilities, and the result is a lot more traffic. One of the main responsibilities of TxDOT in reconstructing these corridors is ensuring that noise and visual impact studies are conducted and devise strategies to relieve these impacts. |
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