Is Houston ever going to fix major roads that flood? (The Woodlands: live, safety)

[Dopo]

Is Houston ever going to fix major roads that flood?

A few months ago I pointed out that Harris county is spending millions of dollars expanding Gosling road .... to the benefit of The Woodlands, so they can have easy access to Grand Parkway.

I wake up this morning and I see that I-45N at main road is flooded.

Am I the only one that thinks that that's BS?
Why expand a little road in the middle of nowhere instead of fixing I-45 just North of downtown?

[lipbalm]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Is Houston ever going to fix major roads that flood?

A few months ago I pointed out that Harris county is spending millions of dollars expanding Gosling road .... to the benefit of The Woodlands, so they can have easy access to Grand Parkway.

I wake up this morning and I see that I-45N at main road is flooded.

Am I the only one that thinks that that's BS?
Why expand a little road in the middle of nowhere instead of fixing I-45 just North of downtown?

45 is an interstate so that should be TXDOt me thinks.

[elnina]

Probably not an easy fix - I don't even want to imagine what would happen if they close major highways for improvement.
Join or follow up the Drainage Coalition.
RESIDENTS AGAINST FLOODING
http://ascehouston.org/images/downlo...report_rev.pdf
http://www.rpsgroup.com/Group/News/N...ton-Flood.aspx

[HookTheBrotherUp]

@Dopo, I don't think it will ever greatly improve to avoid flooding. It is just too flat here, the amount of water that falls out of the skies sometimes gets into the billions of gallons. There is just no place for it to go often times for a period. And, if Houston did have hills, the hydraulic forces would wreak havoc on the infrastructure.

[PedroMartinez]

I'll get on it next week.

[westhou]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

@Dopo, I don't think it will ever greatly improve to avoid flooding. It is just too flat here, the amount of water that falls out of the skies sometimes gets into the billions of gallons. There is just no place for it to go often times for a period. And, if Houston did have hills, the hydraulic forces would wreak havoc on the infrastructure.

I agree. There is just no way to avoid flooding here.

The only thing I can think of is a better warning system to keep people off the roads when flooding occurs. I just can't understand how so many people get stranded or stuck on the highways when the news is clearly telling people to stay off the roads because they are flooded. When flooding is predicted like this I check Houston Transtar/weather radar/local news to make sure my route to work isn't impacted. If so I just wait till things clear or take alternate routes not impacted. I can understand out of towners driving through who aren't familiar with the commonly flooded roads or didn't have access to local news but the rest of us have no excuse. I hate when people say they have to be at work because they end up not getting to work anyway because they spend hours stuck on the freeways or stalled out.

[mikeyyc]

Here's the problem. You keep the water off the roads, it has to go somewhere else. That would mean someone's property. Yard, business, home? Take your pick. Roads in Houston are made to flood to preserve billions of dollars of damage to property from major rain events. As we add more and more non-permeable concrete, increase density and overall size, we're just pushing that infrastructure to the breaking point.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by westhou

I just can't understand how so many people get stranded or stuck on the highways when the news is clearly telling people to stay off the roads because they are flooded.

Amen to that! My wife and I were noticing that this morning... almost all of the people we saw in the news around the flooded sites probably have lived here for years, if not always, yet they STILL manage to drive to known flooding areas! I can accept any excuse, but the truth is there should not be one, this is not new, use common sense, and delay your trip, just like they say over and over on the news, or just plan on staying home.

That said, we also do know there are a lot of *sshole management type people who should not be managing people who will not use common sense either, and punish the employees, possibly evengetting fired. Nothing to be done about that sometimes, it is a tough situation to be in.

[ethanw]

Bingo and agreed. Not all companies values personal safety before their bottom line. Is unfortunate

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

Amen to that! My wife and I were noticing that this morning... almost all of the people we saw in the news around the flooded sites probably have lived here for years, if not always, yet they STILL manage to drive to known flooding areas! I can accept any excuse, but the truth is there should not be one, this is not new, use common sense, and delay your trip, just like they say over and over on the news, or just plan on staying home.

That said, we also do know there are a lot of *sshole management type people who should not be managing people who will not use common sense either, and punish the employees, possibly evengetting fired. Nothing to be done about that sometimes, it is a tough situation to be in.

[Dopo]

Well .... I would think that increasing the capacity of the bayous would help