18-lane highway going up in Houston

[Sabretooth]

Yeah, I haven't thought the 401 was too bad the times I've driven it.

One of the worse ratios of lane width to population density I've seen is I-93 as it goes around the east side of Manchester, NH. A good 10 lanes wide for a stretch, and it's a city of about 100k, immediate metro probably no more than 150k. People who don't know how to drive, basically.

[Bham24yrold]

At least your metro isnt getting short changed..Birmingham, AL has a metro population of about 1.1-1.2 million, and the widest any interstate gets in this area is 8 Lanes!!!!!!, and a major interchange (I-65 & I-20/59) that looks like it was designed by a 5 yr old.

[Sabretooth]

Buffalo has a comparable metro size and the widest we have is also 8, for about 2 miles in a merge/weave stretch between two large interchanges servicing other expressways. And it was just (re)built within the last 5 years. Otherwise, nothing wider than 6.

[TampaMike]

Originally Posted by jmancuso

this is old news. old.

the katy freeway has been in the process of being widened for the past year or so. but it needs it because traffic grinds to a halt around rush hour. i would rather have the state/ city divert the billions to a commuter rail but this is houston.

So Tampa isn't the only one with a growing metro but no rail system? Thank goodness.

18 lanes? That's nuts

[Greens!]

Again, it is 18 lanes total, but it is a 10 lane freeway with a 2 lane HOV road in the middle, inside of a 6 lane boulevard. It is not 18 lanes of controlled access freeway.

[ajmstilt]

In defense of at least part of Texas:

DFW metro

DART serving Dallas currently has 45 miles of light rail with 48 more miles scheduled to open by 2013. (Approximately 43 miles of additional rail service by 2030) Dallas also has a working trolly line undergoing expansion serving "Uptown"

There is commuter rail running between Fort Worth and Dallas, The Fort Worth T is adding a commuter rail line from DT Fort Worth to DFW ariport, and Denton is buildign a commuter rail line from Denton to meet up with DART.

If I remember the number correctly The DFW metro has over 225 miles of rail mass transit built, underconstruction or in planning stages.

[TexasBoi]

Yes. North Texas is really getting on the rail bandwagon. The region wants rail. But Houston would be the same way if Culberson wasn't there as I stated earlier.

[kalt]

Wow, let's form an uneducated opinion about the entire population of Texas based off of the decision of government/state officials in one small region.

[samsonyuen]

Wow, that's a lot of lanes. Any news on Metro expansion?

[Greens!]

Yes, they are planning to expand the light rail past loop 610 through a new development that will be replacing the old Astroworld theme park.

[The Urban Politician]

Originally Posted by ssiguy2

The world is NOT running out of oil...............not even remotely close. We have enough oil to supply us for hundreds of years. Now thou the oil is harder to get at but with new tech more and more will able to be replaced which is happening like Alberta's oilsands.

^

That's priceless. While it's sad to know that there exists so much complete denial over this issue, some comments are so outlandish that they can't help but jiggle your funny bone.

Regarding to topic at hand, it's a tragedy to see Houston digging itself into such a grave with its car dependence. Talk about hitching your wagon to the wrong star..

[Stratosphere 2020]

Originally Posted by EtherealMist

I guess that pretty much sums it up. Its easy to say "BUILD MORE MASS TRAnSIT!" but when your sprawling metroplitan area like Houston, trains aren't that practical really.

You got a point, many seem to overlook.

[klamedia]

Originally Posted by kcmetro

Only in Texas would this kind of b.s. be allowed to happen. Well, LA and ATL too. I guess everything is just bigger in TX.....or more foolish.

Nowhere in Los Angeles is their an 18 lane highway. The most LA will add these days is a carpool lane.

[Trae]

This thing is already completed in some phases. It has been under construction since 2002. It will only be 18 lanes because some lanes are the ones you get onto to exit. Also, there is a tollway in the middle. The columns were built to be able to support a commuter rail, so when the time comes, the tollway or HOV lanes will be removed and a commuter lane will be put on it. It will go all the way to central Houston.

[Greens!]

Originally Posted by klamedia

Nowhere in Los Angeles is their an 18 lane highway. The most LA will add these days is a carpool lane.

This is really only a 10 lane freeway, which LA has plenty of. Six of those 18 lanes are one way streets that run next to the freeway. It is not 18 lanes of controlled access.

[Trae]

The feeder lanes are used for businesses alongside the freeway. In other places they are called frontage roads or access roads. Most cities have them, but only for short distances. Most of Houston's freeways have them for the freeways entire route in the city, except for in Downtown.

[klamedia]

Originally Posted by Greens!

This is really only a 10 lane freeway, which LA has plenty of. .

Any city with a modern freeway system has that.

[Trae]

I know so what was the big deal about this one?

[adajaw]

Originally Posted by BalWash

Policies like this are what's wrong with America. I hope the Feds aren't giving them a cent.

When oil runs out, Houston will be fucked both ways: they don't have mass transit and their oil economy will go down the shitter. They'll definately suffer the biggest hit of all American cities.

You think Houston will be 'fucked'...have you considered the GLOBAL impact if 'oil runs out'?

The gasoline that fuels cars is just one of many products refined from oil. Refined oil produces many common house-hold items. To name a few...

• Plastics/polymers: Consider all of the products made with plastics...computers, cell phones, cd players, tv's, contact lenses, food/beverage packaging, fax machines, copy machines, medical equipment, shower curtains, umbrellas, luggage, roofing, diapers, blenders, credit cards, hairdryers...I think you get the point.
• Heating Oil: Over 1/3 of homes in the Northeast use heating oil to warm their homes.
• Lubricants: Machines, industrial factories, anything with a gear needs lubricants to run smoothly.
• Jet Fuel: There goes the airline industry and our way of life. Imagine the effect on the US and global economy if transportation (land, sea and air) was crippled.
• Chemicals: Petrol-chemicals are used to make pharmaceuticals (aspirin, antihistamines, etc.), house paints, ink, insecticides, fertilizers, glue, lipsticks, perfumes, pantyhose, synthetic fabrics...I could go on...

The elimination of the products refined by oil will force the planet (especially the US) to reinvent our economy and our way of life. Think of all the industries that would be seriously affected if our transportation system (land, sea and air) suddenly ceased to exist as we know it. Besides the fact that thousands of transportation employees would lose their jobs (airlines, freight companies, etc.), how would retailers transport consumer goods from distribution centers to store locations? How would the manufacturing industry fare without lubricants for machines? What material will the hi-tech industry use as an alternative to plastics to make computers, tv's, cell phones, etc? What effect will all of this have on the global stock markets? There goes my 401K...

My point: if oil suddenly runs out, Houston along with the rest of the world will suffer drastic consequences.

As for Houston's economic future, energy, not oil, will always be a driving economic force. Nobody has a profound understanding of the long-term effects the global demand for engery will have on our oil/gas reserves better than the oil/gas companies. Oil companies would not be investing billions of dollars in new discovery/drilling technologies if they thought there wasn't a decent supply of profitable oil left.

Oil & gas companies are also starting to transition by investing in alternative fuels and renewable energy technology. Do you think ConocoPhillips or Chevron is just going to drill themselves out of business and not try to maintain their hold on the global energy market? Shell Oil's new division, 'Shell Wind', is one example of the industry's (ExxonMobil is the exception) initial move to redefine itself for future generations.

So...don't be too hard on Houston just because it serves as a hub for the energy industry and is planning massive freeway expansion. Remeber, it's the exploding GLOBAL (not Houston or Texas) demand for refined oil that is resulting in high oil prices and record profits for 'big oil'. The energy companies are only responding to this demand while making a profit along the way. Isn't this what any comany would do in a free-market economy?

[DGM]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

4x2=8
8x2=16, not 18

Maybe he was going for (2^2), (2)(3^2), (2^2)(3^2). In any sets of three numbers there's some sort of pattern. Anyhow I think his point was that these things are growing exponentially. They must not be. Eventually they'll have to start putting up an alternative system. If Houston drivers are anything like Miami drivers I would bet that making more than 9 lane changes would be very similar to a game of russian roulette