The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 50, No. 149, Ed. 1 Tuesday, March 28, 1972 Page: 22 of 118
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THE BAYTOWN SUN
Tuesday, March 28, 1972
More Channel Spans In Long-Range Needs
There are six primary high-
way needs in the Baytown
area. And there are many
other/long-range needs.
aytown’s leadership has
ne conscious of the fact
dial the Baytown-La Porte
Bridge crossing over the Hous-
ton Ship Channel on Highway
146 will be the third such cross-
ingtobeerected. •
Loop 610’s bridge, that will
join the Galena Park and Gulf
gate areas as well as accom
modate heavy industrial traffic
and other vehicle traffic in
northeast and southeast Hous-
ton, is almost finished. This
first crossing will be in use
within the next year. A final
segment , with 140-feet vertical
clearance, is underway. Ap-
proach segments have been
finished, and access roads be-
tween Interstate 10 on the north
and Loop 225 on the south are
. very near completion.
This new access will be of
great importance to Baytown,
even though it is 20 miles away.
- Motorists in north Baytown can
reach southern Houston, in-
cluding the Astrodome, by
freeway all the way.
The second bridge crossing
in the planning stage is located
on~new-Beltwayd~East,~just
Baytown-La Porte Tunnel was
started. It is hoped that the
same pattern will continue,
though the Beltway 8-Inter-
ttuUk 11 project is still eight to
which would be almost nil.
State highway traffic projec-
. tions indicate in the next 15-20
years that daily traffic on
Highway 146, and through the
Future progress by U.S.
Steel and Humble and other in-
dustries to come along High-
way 146 in the next few years
will also hinge on better cross-
<
west of the San Jacinto Ordi-
nance property on the north
and just west of the Shell Oil
Co. complex on the south side
of the channel. The first hear-
ing on this project was held
earlier this year in Pasadena.
The project was supported by
all municipal and civic organi-
zations, including the Baytown
Chamber of Commerce.
The state has (studied the
Beltway 8 bridge, and has
recommended three locations,
favoring a more easterly loca-
tion, because of a shorter span
and" the economy of construc-
tion. ‘
The Chamber of Commerce
Highway Committee members
feel the quicker the Beltway 8
.project is-completed, -the
quicker the Baytown-La Porte
bridge will be started.
It is recalled that the Wash-
burn Tunnel was completed in
1949, and a few weeks later the
ten years away. ,
Beltway 8 is a new loop
around Houston that will be in
a 12-mile radius of downtown.
- Loop 610 has a 6-mile radius.
, Right of way for the ap-
% proaches to a 10-lane bridge
over the channel in Baytown
has been secured on the La
.Porte side. Additional right of
way will be required on the
Baytown side, and state high- '
way officials have urged Har-
ris County to get this as an
economy measure before addi- *
tional buildings are erected
and because of inflation.
Baytown-La Porte Tunnel, will .............ing^this..point
Bayto
greatly |
Me
the San |
at a toti
will call I
be 85,000 vehicles per day. It
will be impossible for two lanes
to accommodate this huge
rate. *
There are times now twice
each day when long lines of
truffle extend from the tunnel,
causing delay mostly for work-
ing men. :
Increasing accent of the Port
of Houston in construction in
the La Porte and Bayport
areas has made the Port an ag-
gressive ally to La Porte and
Baytown in pressing, .for this
bridge.
It may soon be necessary to
deepen the Ship Chanjnel for
ships that would be precluded
from use otherwise. The tunnel
is only 50-feet below the sur-
face now, and many ships al-
ready have greater draughts.
ThereFis no doubt that com-
pletion of a bridge over the i
channel would relieve much
traffic congestion, but history
of the area has proven that al-
most by the time projects have
been complete, they have be-
come obsolete because of more
congestion.
Cost to operate the Baytown-
La Porte Tunnel is currently
1 Vi million per year. This
amount would go a long way to
pay for the bridge, which would
have a multi-million dollar
cost.
The great advantage of the
bridge would be in mainte-
nance and operation costs,
FM1405 Improvement
. '■ . /-: ■ -. ■ ■ •*' it
Needed In Chambers
Public officials and business
leaders of Baytown and Cham-
bers County have studied by-
passes that would divert con-
gestion and traffic of motor
vehicles in cities and suburbs.
One1, now a portion of which is
still a dream, has been given a
high priority in Chambers
County, but must be a com-
panion project of Spur 55, Dis-
trict 20 Engineer Frank Young
, of Beaumont said.
This is project is FM 1405,
extending north to Highway 146
in Chambers County, several
thousand yards from Cedar
Bayou.
This north-south thorough-
far ewill someday require free-
way proportions, and at least
300-feet of right of way will be
sought. Chambers County and
the Texas Highway Depart-
ment have agreed to reroute
F.M. 1405 to take in an easterly
direction to better serve
Mobay.
Baytown people forsee the
daywhen F. M. 1405 could con-
tinue west, to Highway 146,
crossing Cedar Bayou, inter- *
sect what is now Baker Road in
front of Ross Sterling High
School, and continue west to
Spur 330-Decker Drive. This
would give the entire area a
bypass to the West, Chambers
Accent On Access
Baytown is on the verge of becoming a tremendous center,
of course not competing with Houston, but with an op-
portunity to become an outstanding center because it is more
strategically located than Beaumont, Port Arthur or
- Brazosport.
One thing that stands between Baytown and this dream is
access. Access is far beyond the blueprint stage, but because
of failure of projects to be completed, access has not been real-
i ized. -
County industrial complex,
which already includes U.S.
Steel, Mobay, and the largest
generator in the Houston___
Lighting & Power Co. system.
Ultimately, this -project
would start in Lakewood, con-
tinue onto what is presently
Baker Road, and into Cham-
bers County and the industrial
complex, without forcing into
the present Baytown traffic
pattern.
The Chambers County sec*
tion of this project will be built
as soon as highway right of
way is procurred, and as soon
as Chambers County, Harris
County and the city of Baytown
can settle their differences as
to who will pay for what.
THE AREA’S NEWEST BANK
• • . ■ . ■ •>
A FAST
GROWING AREA”
576-2253
HWY. 146
nk if;
MONT BELVIEU, TEXAS 77580
John O. Mitchell
Insurance Agent
SALUTING THE GREATER BAYTOWN
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
i :■ i £#;
RADIO SHAC.„
^ ■ '-v
SANOUANEAT146 . PHONE 427-6169
Ht-n-CB AND ELECTRONIC
SUPPLIES. „
IF IT’S ELECTRONIC WE HAVE
ad-
joins in Saluting
the Baytown .
Chamber of Commerce I FARM
■ ■ ...
■ I : I
needs Call us at v*.
-V*'- -4* ' - •
427-7337
2005 Hwy 146 Baytown
I
1 |
faculty (
next 10 :
The!
public hi
which is|
million,
pectedto
hindranc
There
Gill
Baytown 2
(Bob) Gillet
his share to
Baytown
meree over t
still contribu
He was firs
board of dir<
has served
cept for one
time.
Gillette is J
the Baytown
Strickhuid, C
sey.
A native of
came to Bay!
having serve
Force in Wor
Since arriv
he has been
affairs over t
He isapast
Chamber of
president of
senior advisor
eees, past
,s c American Uj
'and a past me
ris County Ho
is also a din
Bank.
He is a met
town Health
past presiden
nity Oiest, a
Harris and Ei
ty Bar„Ass<
president of t
of the Baytov
program and
. of Goose (free
i ■
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Hartman, Fred. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 50, No. 149, Ed. 1 Tuesday, March 28, 1972, newspaper, March 28, 1972; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1104198/m1/22/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.