Del Rio, Uvalde, Crystal City and Carrizo Springs
Circumstances, I am happy to say, are obliging me to enlarge my somewhat parochial transportation history research endeavors. Until recently, the furthest I had researched in depth along the old Southern Pacific railroad heading west was Uvalde. I have taken AMTRAK as far as Alpine before and made a couple of trips to Del Rio when I worked for the Union Pacific, but such visits did not involve peeling beneath the surface in any appreciable way. more »
Construction and closures Roads Safety Travel: Hurricane Alex hurricanes storms
by Patrick
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Hurricane Alex delivers blow
Latest radar from National Weather Service.
Hurricane Alex is grinding into a Mexican coast, its tails whipping South Texas and spitting out tornadoes. Winds are blowing more than 100 mph.
Though the brunt of the storm wandered south, it was powerful enough to drive both Texans and Mexicans away from their homes to find safer shelter, the Associated Press reported. A slew of tornado, flooding and wind warnings are in place in South Texas, including a flood watch in Bexar County, the National Weather Service says.
Officials closed the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge in South Padre Island due to winds and State Highway 87 in Galveston because of flooding, the Texas Department of Transportation announced. More than 100 TxDOT workers and 200 pieces of equipment will move in tomorrow to open roads and fix traffic signals and signs.
Helpful links:
- National Weather Service
- Weather Channel
- Statewide road conditions, or call (800) 452-9292
- TxDOT hurricane page
SPID is false advertising!
Continuing on Hugh’s Corpus Christi theme from yesterday, my recent Memorial Day weekend vacay (actually it was a pre-Memorial Day weekend vacay) took me to Mustang Island. To get there, we took SH 358, the main drag through Corpus Christi, also known as South Padre Island Drive. However, “SPID”, as it’s known to locals, is a misnomer of sorts because it actually leads to North Padre Island, not South Padre Island, which is a good 120 or so miles south.
So then, why is it named South Padre Island Drive?
The road is actually just Padre Island Drive. The “South” in South Padre Island Drive comes from the fact that there are two halves of Padre Island Drive (although they’re nowhere equal in length): the southern half and the northern half, just like there is North Staples St. and South Staples St. According to Google Maps, it looks like Bear Lane is the dividing line for Padre Island Drive, so there actually is a short section of North Padre Island Drive between there and I-37. The rest of 358 (which is by far the bulk of it) is South Padre Island Drive.
That said, given the possible confusion this could (and probably does) cause, I propose that city leaders in Corpus Christi consider changing the name to “Padre Island Drive South”, although I suppose that PIDS doesn’t have quite the ring to it that SPID does.
Automobiles History Passenger rail Railroads Roads Travel: Corpus Christi
by Hugh
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Going to Corpus Christi, then and now
The main road to Corpus Christi, circa 1910
A wee trip to the coast, a fine way to spend a hot and hazy Sunday. While I’m still stuck in bachelor mode – decide to go, jump in the car and away – my wife needs, shall, we say, a little more, um, preparation. Providing my ipod is loaded and charged, I am sorted. She, on the other hand, loaded our vehicle like the old days when we were carrying a baby. Blankets, pillows, books, a lap top for heaven’s sake, towels, changes of clothes, the works. more »
Construction and closures Roads: Alamo Regional Mobility Authority Braun Road Loop 1604 SH 151 superstreet Texas Department of Transportation
by Brian
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Loop 1604 “super-street” previewed
Late last month, the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority held a public meeting to show plans for a super-street and other related improvements on Loop 1604 West. (My vacation started immediately after the meeting, thus the reason I’m just now getting around to writing this.) At this time, the plans include super-street intersections at New Guilbeau and at Shaenfield and ancillary improvements at Braun and at SH 151 (with work on the former now underway.) Here are the details of those planned improvements.
Laws and policies Roads Transit: MPO public meeting
by Brian
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MPO holding public meetings for 4 year plan
The San Antonio-Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) will be holding three public meetings on its 2011-2014 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Essentially, this is the revolving list of local transportation projects that are proposed to be funded* over the next three four years (yes, I can count <g>). The projects selected are typically a subset of those in the current long-range plan. Obviously, what eventually does get funded depends heavily on what money eventually comes to this area, but this plan identifies the projects that are first in line to get whatever funding becomes available. The plan includes allocations for all forms of transportation including highways, streets, transit, and bike and pedestrian amenities.
The MPO is the agency charged under state and federal law to control the transportation funding purse-strings for the San Antonio urban area, which in this case includes Bexar County and portions of Comal and Guadalupe counties in the Schertz area. The TIP is required under federal regulations as a condition of receiving federal funding. Projects not in the TIP cannot use federal funds, so this is an important process.
There will be three meetings, all with identical content:
- Tuesday, May 4th from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- Thursday, May 6th from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- Saturday, May 8th from 9:00 a.m. to noon
All three will take place at VIA Metro Center on San Pedro just south of SAC. Visitors will also be able to check-out some new interactive systems and discuss the transportation planning process with the folks that make these decisions.
For more information and to see a draft copy of the TIP, click here. Also, see the interactive site here (link added 5/4/10 10:35 am).
(* As I’ve discussed before vis-a-vis the US 281 project, the term “funded” in transportation parlance means that anticipated revenues during the plan timefame will be able to fund a project. Until those revenues are actually allocated to the MPO, a project does not actually have money available to start work.)
Roads Toll roads: Alamo Regional Mobility Authority public meeting US 281
by Brian
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Latest US 281 public meeting tomorrow
Artist's rendering of possible elevated expressway at 281 and Evans
The Alamo Regional Mobility Authority will be holding the third public meeting on its Environmental Impact Statement for the US 281 North corridor tomorrow evening (Thursday). This meeting will allow ARMA to share the latest status of the study and get input from the public on the remaining proposals. The process has whittled-down the list of options to three viable proposals:
- Overpasses: This would build overpasses on US 281 at major intersections. This proposal provides the least increase in capacity but has the lowest cost. However, as a toll-free option, funding would need to be found. Also, because the overpasses would increase travel speeds, many side streets and driveways would possibly need to be eliminated for safety and operational reasons.
- Expressway: This option would build a conventional expressway with six to eight main lanes and six lanes of frontage roads. The new expressway main lanes could be toll-free, tolled, or managed.
- Elevated expressway: This proposal would leave the existing 281 mostly in place as-is and would build four to six elevated expressway lanes above the existing lanes. South of Stone Oak, the elevated lanes would be on each side of 281, much like the double-decked expressways downtown; north of Stone Oak, the elevated lanes would run along the west side of the existing lanes. Access ramps connecting to the existing 281 would be provided at strategic locations. Just as with the conventional expressway option, the new elevated lanes could be toll-free, tolled, or managed.
In addition, any final proposal will also consider bus and park & ride facilities, pedestrian and bike improvements, growth and demand management, and Intelligent Transportation Systems (e.g. TransGuide). All of the options also consider reserving an envelope for a future high-capacity transit option, such as HOV lanes or light-rail. One option that had been carried forward previously– the overpasses coupled with additional expansions of Blanco and Bulverde Roads– is recommended to be dropped because of a number of factors.
Each of the options to be carried-forward has strengths and weaknesses. The next phase of the study will further analyze each to determine which has the most pros and least cons.
The meeting will begin with an open house from 5:30-7pm, followed by a presentation from 7-7:30 and small breakout group sessions thereafter. It will take place at the Summit Christian Center at 2575 Marshall Road (the same place where the Super Street meeting was held last year.) More information, including advance copies of the presentation and a map of the meeting location, is available here.
My days at the TxDOT photo archive
I-10 south of De Zavala looking north, 1966 (TxDOT archive)
After returning from my Florida vacay a couple of weeks ago, I spent the balance of my time off of work at the TxDOT archive in Austin. I had been wanting to go for years after seeing some of the great historical photos from there on other roadgeek websites. I was not disappointed.
Parking Roads Safety Transit: Fiesta
by Patrick
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Five things to know before heading to Fiesta events
Soggy skies put a damper on the start of the year’s biggest party, with officials cancelling tonight’s Fiesta kickoff at Alamo Plaza and moving the opener to Market Square tomorrow. Hope you didn’t head out to Alamo Plaza.
No worries about the revelry cranking up. It will. But before joining the fun, here are some things to check on:
PARKING: Even tested downtown drivers can lose a little focus when Fiesta fills up parking lots and kicks up parking fees. The Express-News has a decent map of parking lots, but alas, doesn’t include fees. MAP
EXPRESS BUSES: Avoid parking altogether by hopping on special Fiesta express buses. VIA set up an event page with details, which includes reroutes of regular services due to street closures. FIESTA BUSES
DRINKING: If you drink, have a drinking and NOT driving plan. The easiest thing to do is assign a designated driver. In a pinch, Yellow Cab will provide up to 700 free rides for certain events, thanks to a state grant. Of course, you can always fork out your own $25 for a cab, and it’ll be a lot cheaper than a $17,000 DWI fine. CALL 222-2222
TRAFFIC: Make it easy on yourself. Just a few minutes checking TransGuide’s site for wrecks and slowdowns can save you an hour on the highway. TRANSGUIDE
WEATHER: Nuff said on that. FORECAST
Now go have a great time. And be safe.
More links: