Economic Effects of Stage Construction of the Northwest and Southwest Freeways in Houston, Texas

Details

• Creators:
  Chui, Margaret K. ; Memmott, Jeffery L. ; Buffington, Jesse L.
• Corporate Creators:
  Texas Transportation Institute. Texas A&M University
• Corporate Contributors:
  Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Adjacent Land Use And Development Economic And Social Factors Economic Impacts Freeways Land Use Non-users And Users Road Construction Traffic Lanes Travelers Travel Time
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/TX-83/12 +225-26
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Houston (Texas)
• Edition:
  Interim: September 1976 - August 1982
• Corporate Publisher:
  Texas Transportation Institute. Texas A&M University
• Abstract:
  Because of the huge costs involved, most freeways are commonly constructed in lateral and/or longitudinal stages. In the case of the former, service roads are constructed and opened to traffic before the main lanes. In the case of the latter the service roads and/or main lanes are constructed on a freeway section by section basis. No other studies are available which indicate the economic impact of freeway stage construction on non-users and users. Adjacent area land use and development impacts are of concern to non-users. Travel time costs, vehicle running and speed change costs, and accident costs are of concern to vehicle users. The report contains the findings of. a study of two freeways located in Houston Texas: (1) the NW Freeway which was completely stage constructed and (2) the SW Freeway which was only partially stage constructed. Authorization to purchase right of way was given, in 1958 for the SW Freeway and in 1960 for the NW Freeway. Construction of the study portion of the NW Freeway is not complete, but construction of the SW Freeway has 'been complete since 1974. Both freeways have 6-8 main lanes with 4-6 lane service roads, and the alternate old routes are undivided 4 lane facilities. During the before construction period, the socio-economic characteristics (population, number of housing units, housing prices and rental rates, and family income) of the areas adjacent to the two freeways are shown to be generally similar. In the construction and/or after periods these characteristics are shown to be dissimilar, partly due to differences in the construction schedules of the two freeways.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  2-8-77-225
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e0db4978dc57fb90b74c629b3c20cf43fa68e971faaa64c0cca7821c08f442bf5fb5492126841b88de1b1ff252df9b09054a784bd59dbeb7e0d54de01a1e4bce
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/85650/dot_85650_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 784.81 KB ]