SH-225 at Beltway 8 Freight Corridor Improvements November 2017

SH-225 at Beltway 8 Freight Corridor Improvements November 2017

SH-225 at Beltway 8 Freight Corridor Improvements November 2017 SH-225 at Beltway 8 Freight Corridor Improvements Was an INFRA application for this project submitted previously? No If yes, what was the name of the project in the previous application? NA Previously Incurred Project Cost $0 Future Eligible Project Cost $230,500,000 Total Project Cost (Sum of the two previous rows) $230,500,000 INFRA Request $58,000,000 Total Federal Funding (including INFRA) $58,000,000 Are matching funds restricted to a specific project component? If so, which one? No Is the project or a portion of the project currently located on National Highway Yes Freight Network? Is the project or a portion of the project located on the National Highway System? Yes Does the project add capacity to the Interstate system? No Is the project in a national scenic area? No Do the project components include a railway-highway grade crossing or grade No separation project? Do the project components include an intermodal or freight rail project, or freight project within boundaries of a public or private freight rail, water, or intermodal No facility? If answered yes to either of the two component questions above, how much of requested INFRA funds will be spent on each of these projects components? NA State(s) in which project is located. Texas Small or large project Large Urbanized Area in which project is located, if applicable. Houston Population of Urbanized Area. 4,944,332 Is the project currently programmed in the: • TIP? Yes • STIP? Yes • MPO Long Range Transportation Plan? Yes • State Long Range Transportation Plan? Yes • State Freight Plan? Yes ES-1 FY17-18 INFRA: SH-255 at Beltway 8 Freight Corridor Improvements Executive Summary The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the US's busiest seaports. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, and it serves an increasing volume of inland barge traffic. Beltway 8 (BW 8), also known as the Sam Houston Parkway, along with the Sam Houston Tollway, is an 88-mile (142 km) beltway around the city of Houston, Texas, lying entirely within Harris County. BW 8, a state highway, runs mostly along the frontage roads of the tollway, only using the main lanes where they are free between Interstate Highway 45 (North Freeway) and Interstate Highway 69/U.S. 59 (Eastex Freeway). The main lanes elsewhere are the Sam Houston Tollway, a toll road owned and operated by the Harris Figure ES-1: SH 225 at BW 8 County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA). East Ih of Houston, the Tollway crosses the Houston Ship Channel on the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge, a toll bridge; this forms a gap in BW 8 between Interstate Highway 10 (Baytown-East Freeway) and State Highway 225 (La Porte Freeway). Both SH 225 and BW 8 are major freight corridors connecting to the Port of Houston and major industries along the Ship Channel. The HCTRA recently opened the new $962 million Houston Ship Channel Bridge to connect I-10 to SH 225. At this point in time, a full directional interchange does not exist. As a result of these recent activities and the significant growth in the freight traffic along the BW 8 and SH 225 corridors, HCTRA, Harris County, the Port of Houston, TxDOT, and other major stakeholders in the region support the development of this full directional interchange. TxDOT has recently completed an assessment of a fully directional interchange at BW 8 with SH 225. The recently completed feasibility study evaluated the phasing for the addition of the most beneficial direct connectors (DC) to implement. The direct connector combination that was determined to be the most beneficial for improving safety and delay, was the southbound to eastbound and westbound to northbound direct connectors. Those two movements have the greatest impact on reducing delays during the peak hour travel ES-1 FY17-18 INFRA: SH-255 at Beltway 8 Freight Corridor Improvements patterns, as well as improving safety conditions at one of the most dangerous interchanges in the region. Based on the results of a Benefit Cost Analysis model, the completion of this critical project will provide for $1.90 in public benefits for every $1 spent (discounted at 7%). With this INFRA Grant application, TxDOT is requesting $58 million in federal funding to supplement the $172.5 million in State and Local funding for this $$230.5 million project. A summary of the BCA model results is provided in Table ES-1. Table ES-1: BCA Results Project Evaluation Metric 7% Discount Rate 3% Discount Rate Total Discounted Benefits $264.1 $510.0 Total Discounted Costs $139.3 $174.9 Net Present Value $124.8 $335.0 Benefit / Cost Ratio 1.90 2.92 Internal Rate of Return (%) 14.3% Payback Period (years) 7 years ES-2 FY17-18 INFRA: SH-255 at Beltway 8 Freight Corridor Improvements Contents 1. Project Description ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Project Details ............................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Eligibility ......................................................................................................................... 8 2. Project Location ............................................................................................................ 8 3. Project Parties ............................................................................................................... 9 4. Grant Funds and Sources and Uses of all Project Funds ......................................... 11 5. Merit Criteria................................................................................................................ 13 5.1 Support for National or Regional Economic Vitality .................................................. 13 5.1.1 Benefit Cost Analysis .................................................................................................. 13 5.2 Leveraging of Federal Funding ................................................................................... 14 5.3 Potential for Innovation .............................................................................................. 14 5.4 Performance and Accountability ................................................................................ 15 6. Project Readiness ....................................................................................................... 15 6.1 Technical Feasibility .................................................................................................... 15 6.2 Project Schedule ......................................................................................................... 16 6.3 Required Approvals ..................................................................................................... 16 6.4 Project Risks and Mitigation Strategies .................................................................... 16 7. Large/Small Project Requirements ........................................................................... 19 8. Federal Wage Certification Letter .............................................................................. 22 9. Standard Form 424 (Application for Federal Assistance) ........................................ 22 10. Standard Form 424C (Budget Information for Construction Projects) ................... 22 List of Figures Figure 1-1: SH 225 at BW 8 Interchange ..................................................................................... 1 Figure 1-2: Direct Connector Phasing ........................................................................................... 3 Figure 1- 3: Traffic Analysis Area of Focus ................................................................................... 4 Figure 1-4: Existing Geometry at BW 8 and SH 225 ................................................................... 4 Figure 1- 5: Crashes on the Frontage Roads (between 2011–2013) ....................................... 5 Figure 1-6: Peak Hour Turning Movement Volumes .................................................................... 6 List of Tables Table 1-1: Southbound to Eastbound, Westbound to Northbound, and Northbound to Westbound Connector ................................................................................................................... 7 Table 3-1: Project Parties ............................................................................................................ 11 Table 4-1: Sources of Funding .................................................................................................... 11 Table 4-2: Uses of Funds .................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 5-1: Estimates of Economic Benefits, 2016 Dollars ....................................................... 13 Table 5-2: Overall Results of the Benefit Cost Analysis, Millions of 2016 Dollars .................. 14 Table 6-1: Project Risks and Mitigation ...................................................................................... 17 i FY17-18 INFRA: SH-255 at Beltway 8 Freight Corridor Improvements Appendices Appendix A. Letters of Support Appendix B. Benefit Cost Analysis Appendix C. Federal Wage Certification Letter ii FY17-18 INFRA: SH-255 at Beltway 8 Freight Corridor Improvements 1. Project Description The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the US's busiest seaports. The channel is the conduit for

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