Houston Chronicle by Dug Begley Feb. 3, 2020
More rain means taxpayers will pay $135 million more for Interstate 45 widening
Highway officials will dig a little deeper — into the Texas soil and taxpayers’ wallets — to address new rainfall risks and keep critical roads open during floods.
Armed with new Atlas 14 maps, the estimates produced by the National Weather Service for rainfall and where flooding is most likely, Texas Department of Transportation officials are adjusting the designs of projects so they can meet the new standards.
The end result should be roadways better suited to the rainfall realities of the Houston area. Those larger detention ponds, higher berms and bigger concrete culverts come at a higher price, however.
“We want to be able to acknowledge and adapt to those changes, but it means in some places more detention or building up,†said James Koch, director of transportation planning and development for TxDOT’s Houston office.
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/transportation/article/New-rain-realities-making-highways-more-15025892.php
