The gist
According to a March 6 news release, the project was originally planned for only repaving curb lanes where buses run. However, the revised $12.2 million project will now include:
- Resurfacing the entire width of the street along certain sections of Westheimer between Loop 610 and Bagby Street
- Upgrading bus stops with lighting, trash cans and real-time bus arrival information
- Improving crosswalks and sidewalks with access ramps
"The decision to expand this project is cost-effective, causes less disruption for drivers in the long term and will extend the life of the pavement," METRO Chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock said. "An improvement like this is just one of many opportunities we have to put the needs of both our customers and the citizens who commute alongside METRO first and foremost."
Other projects
A separate project along Lower Westheimer stalled in 2021 after funding was left off of Houston's Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal year 2020-21.
According to previous Community Impact coverage, the plan included upgrading dangerous intersections, adding bike lanes and improving sidewalks along the stretch of Westheimer that goes through Montrose.
Community Impact reached out to Houston Mayor John Whitmire's office regarding the priority of the Lower Westheimer project and whether his administration will consider bringing it back into a future capital improvement plan.
"Any decision we make to grow or change infrastructure will be initiated with a customer-first mindset and a responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer resources," Whitmire said in the March 6 news release. "METRO's new leadership and I are honoring our commitment to immediately get to work providing citizens with mobility options and a best-in-class mode of transit, accountability and efficiency."
