281-HOV

While the TxDOT presentation graphic tries to misrepresent what TxDOT, the RMA, and Via are actually doing, it’s clear that today there are SIX unrestricted highway lanes open to all cars on US 281 (see Google maps image), and once they finish, there will only FOUR unrestricted freeway lanes. The two inside highway lanes will be converted to an exclusive, restricted HOV-bus lane. So the actual highway capacity open to ALL vehicles will SHRINK, not expand. Even though the highway lanes will FINALLY have overpasses, there will still be congestion since they are adding NO NEW highway lanes and instead are taking away an existing lane that’s open to all cars and making it an exclusive lane for carpoolers and buses.

In fact, the new lanes they’re building are the frontage roads to the outside of the existing freeway lanes, regardless of how this drawing is labeled. A Google Earth view of 281 clearly shows that the frontage roads stop at Loop 1604 and the highway in the middle continues on 281 all the way past the county line. The RMA drawing tries to call the highway that exists today ‘access lanes,’ but even the Federal Highway Administration recognizes US 281 as a US highway (so does the signage in the corridor), even if our local and state government try to say it’s not.

Residents have been promised an additional general purpose lane (open to all traffic) for nearly 20 years, now they’re not only NOT going to build any additional freeway lane, they’re going to take a lane open to all traffic away.