Happy New Year

2010 is gone and 2011 is about to begin.

The New Year is shaping up to be quite an interesting year in terms of transportation. Our goal for 2011 is to provide you with more important information concerning your transportation system.

In fact, beginning next week, we will be posting updates from the 6th annual Texas Transportation Forum in Austin. Make sure to check the site throughout the week as we post valuable news as to the future of our state's transportation system.

In the meantime, drive safe and Happy New Year!

Marc S.

A car that runs on....Air???

Could it be the answer to energy independence?

A father and son from France have created an "Air Car". Believe it or not, they have a car that runs on nothing but compressed air.

Check out the above video for their fairly simple idea.

Happy driving,
Marc S.

What traffic!?!

First thing first. Thanks goes to Gator at the "Bayou" for pointing this one out on one of his past posts. We decided re-post it here on our blog.

Now, onto where the "rubber meets the road." Okay. No more very bad puns. However, while the above map shows our area does have some congestion problems, its nothing compared to other parts of the state.

Compared to our friends in Houston, we don't have much of anything to complain about in terms of traffic congestion. Even Laredo beats us. We did top Brownsville. However, not by very much.

Then, of course, this is before the Neches River Bridge (Purple Heart Memorial) replacement project in 2012. It would interesting to see how the numbers (and vehicles) stack up in terms of highway congestion.

For more information go to: http://money.bundle.com/article/thestreet-and-bundle-special-report-americas-best-and-worst-commutes/1

Regards,
Marc S.

What's up with SH 63?

If you've traveled along SH 63 between Louisiana and Texas, you've probably noticed some occasional day closures along the bridge at the border.

It's difficult to see anything taking place under the bridge. So, we thought we would post you a photo as to what workers are doing.

Crews are repairing one of the bridge's footing system. Simply put, it's part of the bridge's foundation.  Bridges along rivers often develop a problem called "scouring". This means some of the material under or around the bridge's footing is washed away from flooding or heavy flow.

Under this project, crews are filling a portion around the hole with concrete. Afterwards, they pump a grout-like material under the footing through those PVC pipes. While it looks ominous, it's really a simple project. The footing goes quite a ways into the sand. Pumping it with grout simply gives it more stability and helps keep the column from moving.

The SH 63 bridge has a very interesting history. Built back in the early to mid 30's, is was part of a depression-era federal works project. So, for the past 70 years, the old structure has seen quite a bit of history.

The stories it could tell......

Enjoy the weekend,
Marc S.

Repairs to close bridge

If you're traveling to Louisiana this weekend or next week you might run across a roadblock.

The state’s transportation agency will periodically close the SH 63 bridge (Burr Ferry Bridge) at the Louisiana State Line in Newton County for repairs. The closures will begin this weekend and last approximately one week, weather permitting.

Beginning Saturday morning (December 11) TxDOT will close the bridge each day from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. through December 18th. During the daytime closures, motorists traveling from Texas can use US 190 to LA 111 and then to LA 8. Those traveling from Louisiana can use LA 8 to LA 111 and then to US 190. TxDOT plans to reopen the bridge each evening.

The closure is part of a project to repair a section of the bridge’s pier system. TxDOT is closing the bridge to traffic during the repairs as a safety precaution.

Safe Driving,
Marc S.

You personal "bird's-eye" view of traffic

Ever wanted to get a glimpse of traffic on some of the highways you travel before you hit the road?

Well, you can.  Thanks to TranStar, you can check out traffic cameras on some of the more heavily traveled highways in the Beaumont District. While not in "real-time", they are updated every few minutes and give you a general idea as to traffic flow.

And there's even more good news. The district is about to mount several more cameras on top of the new message boards being installed on I-10, US 69 and other highways. We are also working to make those public.

Below is the link to Houston's TranStar. However, remember to click the box next to "Cameras" on the top right of the map. Also, since this primarily covers the Houston area, you will need to move the map to the east a bit by clicking on the gray arrow on the right of the map.

Here's the link:
http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/layers/layers.aspx?mapname=region_east&inc=true&rc=true#

One other thing: These cameras don't take pictures of license plates. In fact, we don't record anything.They just monitor traffic. In other words, we are not spying on you.
Let us know what you think.

Safe Driving,
Marc S.