Less traffic could mean more road work around Houston during coronavirus crisis

Dug Begley | Houston Chronicle

A lighter load on Houston-area freeways and COVID-19 concerns have not slowed the heavy machinery making way for more lanes or new ramps along many of the routes seeing unprecedented drops in traffic.

Some crews will even ramp up work as traffic takes a coronavirus-induced holiday.

“Lighter traffic on our roadways potentially presents some opportunities to advance some of our work, and that is being assessed on a case-by-case basis,” said Raquelle Lewis, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation in Houston.

All TxDOT projects remain active, Lewis said.

Houston Public Works and contractors on city jobs also remain out tying steel, pouring concrete and smoothing asphalt, Public Works spokeswoman Erin Jones said this week.

This is actually a great time to hit the streets and get some major work done while there are fewer folks driving, officials said. Work is accelerating or changing on a handful of projects, Lewis said. Typically during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, crews halt work on TxDOT projects in the vicinity of NRG Park. When the rodeo pulled up stakes, the highway workers returned.

The chance to disrupt fewer drivers also is changing some schedules, Lewis said.

“Work on the (Loop) 610-Interstate 69 interchange project has moved up the placement of beams for some of the new connectors,” she said.

Contractors working with TxDOT also are seeing if they can extend lane closures to expedite work while traffic volumes are low. Lewis said those are being evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

“As events evolve, this also could change,” she said.

More difficult, Jones and others said, is trying to add new projects. Often, contracts take weeks to prepare for public bids, then amass the needed materials and manpower.

“We don’t know what resources our contractors have ready,” Jones said.

The virus scare and its effects — closed schools, shuttered restaurants and businesses, and thousands of residents working from home — already is having a huge impact on traffic in Houston.

Last month, the outbound trip along I-10 from I-45 to Texas 6 — a nightmarish slog for Houston commuters most days — took an average of just over 33 minutes to cover the 17.6-mile stretch. Wednesday afternoon, it took 17 minutes, with drivers averaging 63 mph, according to Houston TranStar data, a nearly unprecedented peak commute time for the region’s largest freeway.

It was not the only spot where workers staying home and spring break combined to erase congestion in one of the most traffic-choked regions of the country.

During spring break last year, the Wednesday morning commute along I-45 from FM 1960 to Allen Parkway took 21 minutes. This Wednesday, it took 16½ minutes.

City streets also are seeing far less traffic, notably at times of the day when they usually are packed.

“It’s like a ghost town, eerie,” Malcolm Witherspoon said of his trip from Oak Forest to Greenway Plaza the past few days.

Officials earlier this week said commuters still going to work will adjust, likely leading to the return of a truncated rush hour once commuters think they can wait a few minutes longer to head to the office.

Houston is hardly alone in the phenomenon of free-flowing highways. INRIX, which tracks congestion in cities around the world, said traffic speeds in the 25 largest metro areas were all higher than normal, with freeway traffic in places such as Chicago and Los Angeles moving 60 percent faster than normal during evening commutes.

“If current trends persist, it is probable major congestion will cease to exist in the country’s most congested cities within the week,” Trevor Reed, an analyst with INRIX, said in a release.

Automobile traffic may be down, but bike use in Houston appears to be surging. Trips on Houston B-Cycle — each time one of the bicycles was checked out from a kiosk — were 51 percent higher from Feb. 23 to Tuesday, compared with last year, bike share officials said.

“It’s often more than one factor,” B-Cycle spokesman Henry Morris said. “Personally, I think the combination of good weather, spring break, school and work closures, and the need for solo or small group transportation/recreation options because of social distancing rules are all contributing to the rise in trips.”

Gyms also are closed, leading many to venture out in the pleasant weather.

Top checkout spots for the bikes remain popular recreational destinations such as Sabine Bridge, Discovery Green and Hermann Park.