County OKs plan for Hardy Toll Road extension

A planned extension of the Hardy Toll Road through the Near Northside into downtown Houston will proceed but with various community-driven design elements.

Harris County commissioners on Tuesday approved a plan by the Harris County Toll Road Authority for the extension from Loop 610 to the Elysian Viaduct near Interstate 10. Toll authority officials previously said it could be four years before construction of the longproposed toll road extension is complete.

Despite being a tollway project, commissioners cheered the efforts to make the road more palatable to the community and add elements such as park space, bike trails, community meeting facilities, sound walls and trees that are much-needed in the Near Northside.

“It is good when you have some money,” Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said, referring to HCTRA’s ability to fund numerous amenities beyond the lanes.

The project would add two toll lanes in each direction, mostly along a railroad right of way the county acquired over several years.

Some form of the tollway extension has been considered for more than 25 years. Those early designs, however, were solely focused on running the tollway through the neighborhood.

“It was a stark thing indeed,” said Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, who prior to being a county official, was a civil engineer who worked on early drafts of the project.

After county officials balked at a 2020 proposal for the extension, citing neighborhood concerns, HCTRA spent two years holding public meetings in the community and adding amenities to the project based on what residents said they wanted. Those discussion led to a number of changes, including:

• An entrance and exit to the tollway at Cavalcade, so residents have some access to the tollway for their own use, rather than it simply running unimpeded through the area.

• Green spaces both next to and on top of the tollway where it will be depressed, with parking beneath the portion of the road that will be elevated to increase access to the parks but shield the parking lots.

• A HCTRA building planned for the agency’s IT offices in the area open to the community for public meetings and possibly classes.

“This project has morphed into something the community does support,” said HCTRA Executive Director Roberto Treviño.

Treviño said Monday he expects HCTRA to build many of the items the community sought prior to the tollway construction.

Despite the commitments, concerns remain that the amenities shroud what is still a large road to serve vehicle trips.

“Like many environmental justice communities, the Near Northside has been repeatedly asked to bear the burden of air pollution sources like highways,” said Jennifer Hadayia, executive director of Air Alliance Houston. “Unfortunately, this new highway will add even more air pollution to the community… Near Northside deserves investments like parks, recreation facilities and affordable housing without a four-lane highway going through the neighborhood.”

To address some of the concerns, county officials approved HCTRA’s plan, but also told the agency to work with Metropolitan Transit Authority, Harris County Pollution Control and other agencies to monitor and mitigate pollution, ensure the project does not displace affordable housing and offer improved transit.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said the project, largely inevitable as the toll road handles demand, can still provide benefits.

“The best thing we can do is try to do what this project is proposing,” Hidalgo said.