As the fall semester approaches, students are not only beginning to feel the pressure from the coming classes, but also from the commute between UH, home and work.
The constant ramp and lane closures from Interstate 10, due to a massive construction project from the Texas Department of Transportation that has been in place since 2003, have left area commuters with constant traffic.
The construction is expected to be complete by 2013, but in the meantime, commuters will continue to have frequent closures in one of the city’s most heavily transited areas.
Currently, the ramps along Beltway 8 on the Katy Freeway are being demolished, so that construction on new connectors can start, spokeswoman Tanya McWashington said on behalf of the contractor, Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Traffic in the past few years has increased in those particular areas, and students are voicing their complaints about frequent coming closures, some that are now permanent, as long as the project is in progress.
"I really hope and pray that’s the case, because if not, it’s going to take me three to four hours to get to school," French and communication senior Asma Hassan said.
Before the decisions to close down a part of the freeway are made, the contractor in charge of the project does take public impact into consideration, said McWashington.
One of the complaints the project has received has been in regard to the time allowed for notification to be given when new closures are made, she said.
"They’ve been closing random lanes without notice so instead of knowing it’s closed and trying to take a detour, I won’t find out till I get there," sophomore Sterling Lay said. "There’s not enough notice so it’s hard to plan another way to get there."
The Katy Freeway Web site (www.katyfreeway.org/closures.html) offers a subscription service that gives weekly updates on closures, detours and any activities that may affect drivers.
"If (students) are not a part of this subscription service, it’s the first step to having any notice about closures or anything that happens on the Katy Freeway," said McWashington regarding students who complain about the lack of notice.
Even if you don’t know about the subscription service, closures are communicated, Hassan said.
"If you listen to the radio, if you watch TV and if you drive on the road, you’ll know which exits or freeways are closed," Hassan said. "They make it very clear so I don’t think that’s a very good excuse."
Students attending summer school have been late to class after getting stuck in traffic because of the detour routes despite advanced notice.
"Because of the closure at Beltway 8, I had to take I-10 to Highway 6 and then find another way to get to school," biology graduate student Robert Batycki said.
Batycki had taken I-10 for two weeks in his first semester. He has since taken alternate routes, which at first seemed to be out of his way but have actually saved him at least 45 minutes of travel time, he said.
Keeping all this in mind, the reconstruction project’s goal solve these problems once everything is complete, said McWashington.
"We’re always going to have these issues with mobility in the area. It’s just something we have to deal with," she said.
