East End Corridor Updates              

October 2009

Download October Construction Update
Download October Demo Update - 4711 Harrisburg
Download October Demo Update - Harrisburg, Caylor, Emile and Texas

Download August Construction Update (PDF)
Download August Demolition Notice (PDF)

NOTICE TO ADJACENT LANDOWNERS AND TENANTS
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) is demolishing several buildings in your neighborhood to make way for development in association with the Light Rail expansion. We want to make you aware of this work and describe the steps being taken to ensure your safety and the protection of the environment.

Prior to the late 1970's, certain building materials were manufactured containing asbestos and lead. As you probably know, the federal government has since determined that building materials containing these substances can present a health hazard if not handled properly. METRO has hired environmental experts to survey and test for these substances in the buildings to be demolished. Prior to actual demolition, METRO has experienced professionals remove any building materials containing asbestos or lead.

What does this mean to you? The environmental professionals remove these materials within the buildings with no exposure or risk to the public. The workers wear protective clothing and respiratory gear for their own protection, in accordance with state and federal regulations. So, if you notice workers in protective clothing that can resemble an astronaut's space suit, please do not be alarmed. For your well being, however, we ask that you not enter the work zones which are considered hazardous until these materials are safely removed and disposed of properly.

The preparatory and demolition work is expected to be completed on or around March 31st. 

July 2009
The East End Corridor office participated in the celebration of groundbreaking events in both the North and Southeast corridors.

The North and Southeast groundbreaking ceremonies were followed by a grand finale at 10:30 a.m. at a packed Union Station in Minute Maid Park. Traveling from the nation's capital to the Bayou City to participate in the festivities were U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Congressman Gene Green, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, and Congressman Al Green. Joining the delegation were Mayor Bill White and Houston City Council members.

METRO is excited about the future of mass transit in your community, and we look forward to working with you!

January 2009 - METRO Announces Partnership with HCC!
The Houston Community College (HCC) Board, through a process initiated by HCC District III Trustee Diane Olmos Guzman, approved the development of an early college work force facility that will serve as the transportation workforce hub for post-secondary training. This facility will provide specialized training to meet workforce needs within District III’s transportation industries.

METRO is one of the first organizations to announce its partnership with HCC to target at-risk students for training in new transportation technologies.

Initially, METRO has identified four positions that need specialized training in meeting workforce needs:

METRO and HCC will determine job descriptions, certifications and critical skills necessary to develop a curriculum that will improve educational services and workforce programs on the East End.

How did things evolve to where they are today? Here's a timeline.

• 2003 - METRO Solutions is approved by voters in a Referendum.
• 2005 - METRO proposes Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) technology for four corridors (North, East End, Southeast and Uptown) as an interim step as we understood from the FTA that we would not qualify for light-rail according to the federal funding eligibility criteria. BRT, a technology using buses running on and off a guideway, would not present a challenge for the East End line because buses have been crossing and continue to cross the freight railroad at grade (i.e., at road level).
• 2006
  • UPRR sends first letter to METRO indicating it would not allow an at-grade crossing.
  • METRO Board of Directors approves Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for East End. The LPA refers to both the alignment and the technology. The alignment selected (Harrisburg) had overwhelming community support. The technology at this point was still proposed as BRT and therefore, still did not present a challenge.
• 2007
  • UPRR sends second letter to METRO disallowing an at-grade crossing.
  • Gulf Coast Freight Rail District is created and coordination with METRO begins.
  • METRO learns that the new federal funding eligibility criteria better enables its projects to qualify for light rail technology. Since the agency always maintained its commitment to provide light rail sooner than later, METRO took this opportunity to propose all the corridors to have light rail technology.  It is at this point (October) that crossing the freight rail road became more of a challenge because UPRR had already stated its position not to allow light rail to cross the freight rail road at grade.
• 2008 - METRO began working with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to appeal UPRR's decision.

December 2007
On December 1, the East End Corridor Office was inaugurated with an Open House Event. The East End Corridor Office is located at 6215 Harrisburg and it is open for business Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

October 2007
At the October meeting, METRO's Board of Directors unanimously adopted light-rail technology for the North, East End, Southeast, and Uptown corridors. These four corridors had previously been planned to begin with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) technology as an interim step towards Light Rail Transit (LRT).  

• Read the news release for more details. 

July 2006
METRO's Board of Directors voted unanimously in favor of Harrisburg as the preferred alignment on which to build the East End Corridor. This is the first in a series of Board actions on corridor alignments, with the East End Corridor one of five to be built as part of the METRO Solutions Phase 2 Implementation Plan. On July 20, METRO issued a news release regarding this Board action. Project team members began contacting owners of properties along the corridor most likely to be affected. Individual meetings will be sought in the coming weeks.

• Read Houston Chronicle coverage. 

May 2006
An Open House took place on Thursday, May 25, 2006.

• Please click here to view a Meeting Summary.
• Please click here to view the slide show presented at the meeting.

April 2006
A public workshop was held on Thursday, April 27, 2006

• View the workshop summary and view boards displayed during this Public Workshop.