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Seventeen roadways would cross the potential new rail line between Rosenberg and Arcola. The
Harris County Regional Freight Rail Improvement Plan indicates that this bypass would be entirely grade separated.
However, this study identified eight roadways as candidates for potential grade separations, while the remaining nine crossings were determined to remain at-grade based on the average daily traffic volumes along the roadways.
The potential grade separations consist of the following roadways:
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US 90A
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Spur 10
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US 59
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Cottonwood School Road
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SH 36
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Minontite Road (FM 2977)
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FM 521 (north of CR 57 and also north of Sienna Parkway).
Example Grade Separations
Addition of Second Mainline Track from Rosenberg to West Junction
The Glidden Subdivision is a key east-west route for the UPRR, connecting the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to Houston, and Houston to New Orleans.
Rail Traffic
Approaching Houston from Rosenberg, the Glidden Subdivision parallels US Highway 90A. Due to the large volume of train traffic combined with the increasing volume of vehicular traffic, vehicular delays are typically experienced in Rosenberg, Richmond, Sugarland, Stafford, and Missouri City. The rail improvement would increase the rail traffic capacity of the Glidden Subdivision for current and anticipated growth.
A single mainline currently makes up the Glidden Subdivision between Rosenberg and West Junction. Limited sidings, in particular between West Junction and Missouri City, do not allow trains to pass one another, nor are there adequate locations for trains entering into the Houston rail network to sit and wait their turn to get into one of the rail yards or outlying locations.
The addition of a second mainline between Rosenberg and West Junction would significantly reduce delay, increasing rail traffic capacity and decreasing travel times.
Cost
The anticipated cost of the rail improvement from Rosenberg to West Junction is $137,000,000. The estimated cost for adding a second mainline from Rosenberg through West Junction to Tower 30 is approximately $200,000,000, but is not included in the cost estimates in this study.
Glidden Subdivision Analysis
More main track capacity by itself may not fully address the problem, which is that this part of the network experiences an especially high re-crew rate. The trains awaiting relief crews are parked on the available sidings, which, in the base case, predictably results in congestion because opposing trains have to meet at some point other than the one at which they would have met most efficiently. The construction of the Fort Bend bypass route may negate the need for adding capacity to the Glidden Subdivision.
The option of adding capacity along the Glidden Subdivision is one the railroads have expressed a preference for, however the communities along this line are opposed to anything other than a reduction of train volumes through the area.
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Identified Improvements
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