Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Bill King Blog
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Bill
  • Policy Discussion
  • Categories
  • Tune in
  • Home
  • About Bill
  • Policy Discussion
  • Categories
  • Tune in
No Result
View All Result
Bill King Blog
No Result
View All Result
Home homeblog

On Overpasses and Politics

by Bill King
August 14, 2020
in homeblog, Mobility, State of Texas, State of Texas Finances
2
On Overpasses and Politics
Share this article
  • 30
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
    30
    Shares

Memphis, Texas is located in the panhandle on SH287.  The US Census estimated its 2019 population at just shy of 2,000, about half of what it was 50 years ago.  A major rail line runs along SH287 through Memphis.  FM1547 intersects SH287 and a BNSF rail line near the center of Memphis.  The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) maintains a traffic counter on FM1547 near this intersection.  In 2019, it showed that about 575 drivers use this intersection daily.

In Houston, Richmond Avenue crosses the Terminal rail line about half a mile east of the West Loop.  Traffic counts show 27,000 to 37,000 drivers use this part of Richmond on a daily basis. 

Here is what the rail line crossing in Memphis looks like.

Here is what the rail line crossing on Richmond Avenue looks like.

According to a local news story, the Memphis overpass had been on the drawing board since 2000.  It was completed by TXDOT in 2016 at a cost of $5 million.

For as long I can remember, local transportation planners have been discussing a grade separation of the Terminal rail line and Richmond Avenue.  The most recent study estimates the cost at $28 million.1

Granted, that would make the Richmond grade separation about six times more than what the Memphis grade separation cost.  But on the other hand, about 50 times the number of drivers use Richmond compared to Memphis’s FM1547.

I certainly do not begrudge the good people of Memphis their overpass, but a rational allocator of highway funds, utilizing a cost-benefit analysis, would have obviously built a grade separation on Richmond long before the one in Memphis.

So, how do such misallocations of highway funds occur?  Politics, of course.  North Texas has been reliably Republican for decades and rural areas of Texas tend to have longer-serving members in the Texas legislature.  When it comes to the legislative process, especially in the House, tenure is everything.  Memphis is located in House District 68.  It has had two representatives in the last 20 years.

John Godfrey Saxe, an American politician and writer, said, “laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made.”2  Saxe was unquestionably accurate in his observation.  There is a sordid aspect to politics that turns off many and causes them to disengage.

But the reality is, elections have consequences.  So, the next time you are sitting in traffic on Richmond or Westheimer or San Felipe in traffic waiting on a train to pass, don’t complain unless you have engaged in the political process and certainly, at least, voted in the last election.  And perhaps you should consider voting for someone that will do something about mundane issues like grade separations and not just because of the letter behind their names on the ballot.

Notes:

  1.  Houston readers, of course, know that there are also at-grade crossings of the Terminal line at Westheimer and San Felipe as well as Richmond.  The traffic counts at all three are similar, but the cost of creating grade separations at Westheimer or San Felipe are significantly higher than Richmond.
  2. Some version of this quote is normally attributed German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.  But according Quote Investigator Sake is the more likely original source.  BTW, Quote Investigator is a very cool website.  You will be amazed how many times you will discover a famous quote has been misattributed.
ShareTweet

Bill King

Related Posts

US COVID Data Update – More Indications that the Peak is Near
COVID-19

US COVID Data Update – More Indications that the Peak is Near

January 18, 2021
Texas is Getting Shortchanged on Vaccine Distribution
COVID-19

Texas is Getting Shortchanged on Vaccine Distribution

January 16, 2021
“Highlights” from the City’s Audit
City Of Houston Finances

“Highlights” from the City’s Audit

January 13, 2021
Update on Texas COVID Stats – Metrics Still Grinding Higher
COVID-19

Update on Texas COVID Stats – Metrics Still Grinding Higher

January 11, 2021
Texas Population Growth Far Outstrips Other States
Demographics

Texas Population Growth Far Outstrips Other States

January 9, 2021
Where Are We on Herd Immunity?
COVID-19

Where Are We on Herd Immunity?

January 5, 2021
Load More
Next Post
US COVID Data for CDC Weeks 32 & 33

US COVID Data for CDC Weeks 32 & 33

Comments 2

  1. Michael Maldonado says:
    3 days ago

    Hello Bill, new to your blog and am liking the various topics discusssed.

    Any thoughts on the I-45/I-69 re route around downtown and subsequent widening of I-45N? I think it’s a diaster that’ll be like Boston’s Big Dig that will do much more damage than benefit, namely, downtown will be virtually inaccessible during construction which knowing TXDOT will take 5 years to complete.

    Thanks,
    Mike

    Reply
    • Bill King says:
      3 days ago

      Thanks, Michael. I have studied it some. I have my reservations, but so far have not come up with a better idea. Going to look at it some more.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

By Categories

  • Book Review
  • City Of Houston Finances
  • Climate Change
  • COVID-19
  • Crime
  • Demographics
  • Economics
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Faith
  • Federal Government Finances
  • Flooding
  • Harris County
  • Harvey Recovery
  • homeblog
  • Human Trafficking
  • Hurricane Preparation
  • Ike Dike
  • Immigration
  • Kingwood
  • Management Districts
  • Media
  • Mobility
  • Montrose Management District
  • National Economy
  • National Economy
  • National Politics
  • Pensions
  • Police Polices & Procedures
  • Police Policies & Procedures
  • Political Parties
  • Property Taxes
  • Public Health
  • Quote of the Week
  • Race
  • Rebuild Houston
  • Rebuild Houston – Drainage Fee
  • Social Security
  • State of Texas
  • State of Texas Finances
  • TIRZ
  • Uncategorized
  • Uptown
Bill King Blog

Posts range from local to national issues and focus on fact-based analysis, avoiding hyperbole and partisanship. The site is intended to be an open, respectful discussion of the critical issues of our day. Contact Bill directly and let him know what matters to you - weking@weking.net

Recent News

  • US COVID Data Update – More Indications that the Peak is Near
  • Texas is Getting Shortchanged on Vaccine Distribution

Our Social Media

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Bill
  • Policy Discussion
  • Categories
  • Tune in