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10 | NEWS | Community Impact Newspaper • Northwest Houston Edition
trANsPortAtioN
Medians to be installed on FM 1960
By Marie Leonard
An effort to make a portion of FM
1960 and Hwy. 6 safer is underway by
the Texas Department of Transportation,
barring whether funding comes through
for the proposed project.
The plan includes the conversion of the
roadway’s center turn lane into a raised
median from I-10 to Hwy. 249 to relieve
congestion in the area and improve
safety, said Deidrea Samuels, TxDOT
spokesperson. Although the project is
unfunded, it is expected to cost about
$33.6 million.
“The proposed construction timeline
is dependent on funding, so there is not a
set month, but at this time the estimated
time for construction to begin is anywhere
from 2013 to 2015,” Samuels said.
The Copperfield Coalition, which
represents the community around Hwy.
6, believes the proposed project will make
the roadway safer, but its members do
have concerns about the area north of the
intersection at FM 529 and Hwy. 6, said
Anthony Cecala, coalition president.
“The problem with TxDOT’s plan is that
it’s going to be difficult to get in and out of
those two sections,” he said. “Our suggestion
is to put in a light at the intersection
just a hair north of Outback Steakhouse.
Right now it’s an extremely dangerous
intersection, and the light would open easy
access to the businesses.”
As far as the rest of the Copperfield area,
the coalition does not have other issues,
with the exception that residents will have
to make more U-turns.
The coalition is also in favor of having
green medians along the roadway, Cecala
said. Non-green medians would be filled
with asphalt or concrete and painted black,
while green medians feature at least grass
and possibly shrubbery.
“The county will come in and fill [the
median] in with dirt, put a layer of sod
down, and walk away,” Cecala said. “Then
it is up to the community to keep it mowed
and watered. They can from that point go
on and landscape it, but it does have to fit
within the safety guidelines of TxDOT.”
The state agency agreed to install green
medians along the project route if an organization
steps up and accepts the responsibility
to maintain them, because they
do not want to turn it into a pile of weeds,
Cecala said. The Copperfield Community
Association is willing to manage the
portion of Hwy. 6 from Point Northwest
Boulevard to FM 529. Other entities, which
could include apartment complexes and
local businesses, are expected to accept the
task of maintaining the medians along the
remaining areas.
Raised medians could be part of the landscape on a portion
of Hwy. 6 in several years if funding comes through for the
project, which would run along the roadway from I-10 to Hwy.
249. The main purpose of the project includes converting the
road's continuous middle turn lane into a raised median.
• The 12.2 mile project will
run along FM 1960/Hwy. 6
from I-10 to Hwy. 249
• It remains unfunded, but
will cost about $33.6
million to complete
• The Copperfield
Community Association
will upkeep green medians
along the project route
• One section of the
12.2-mile area—from west
of Hwy. 290 to Windmere
Lakes Boulevard—will not
have raised medians due
to the Hwy. 290 widening
project
SHOULDER
12’
LANE
12’
LANE
12’
LANE
Source: Texas Department of Transportation
THROUGH RAISED MEDIANS
EXISTING
PROPOSED
PROPOSED
(ADDICKS RESERVOIR)
CRASH RATES TIMELINE
2008
2009
2010
2011
12’
LANE
12’
LANE
788
699
895
528
EXISTING
PROPOSED
PROPOSED(ADDICKS RESERVOIR)
12’
LANE
12’
LANE
12’
LANE
12’
LANE
TURN
LANE
RAISED
MEDIAN
DIVIDER
12’
LANE
12’
LANE
12’
LANE
12’
LANE
NEW MEDIANS
6
12’
LANE
12’
LANE
1960
12’
LANE
10
290
12’
LANE
12’
LANE
WINTER 2012
Completion of Environmental Process
and Schematic
SPRING 2013
Completion of Professional Engineering
and Surveying Design
EST. 2013–2015
Construction (Dependent on funding)
249
SHOULDER