Environmental Impact Statement Advances Texas High-Speed Train Project

Environmental Impact Statement Advances Texas High-Speed Train Project

On May 29, 2020, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Texas High-Speed Train project, a regulatory milestone that ensures the state-of-the-art system will be built in a way that minimizes impacts to landowners and the environment along the 240-mile alignment. The release of this more than 10,000-page…

Port Houston Successfully Managing through Pandemic – Keeping People First

Port Houston Successfully Managing through Pandemic – Keeping People First

Standing for Social Justice, Economic Equality, Community Partnerships The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority met in virtual session Tuesday for its regular monthly meeting. Port Chairman Ric Campo opened his remarks by declaring that events surrounding the pandemic and social injustice were a “wake up call,” and committed Port Houston to “double…

Port Houston Achieves Security Management System ISO 28000 Recertification Continuing Long Commitment to Security

Port Houston Achieves Security Management System ISO 28000 Recertification Continuing Long Commitment to Security

Port Houston, the largest port on the U.S. Gulf Coast, recently obtained its ISO 28000 recertification for its Security Management System (SMS) for the fifth time. This exceptional achievement was accomplished without any non-conformances. Port Houston in 2008 became the first port authority in the world to receive this international security designation, which outlines stringent…

Container Activity Slowing at Port Houston First-Quarter Volume Still Up

Container Activity Slowing at Port Houston First-Quarter Volume Still Up

Container activity at Port Houston, the largest container port on the United States Gulf Coast, began slowing in late March as expected as the coronavirus outbreak continued to threaten countries across the globe, including the U.S. Port Houston handled a total of 248,280 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in March, a drop of 11 percent compared to…

Texas’ Thirteenth Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of Texas Central

On the heels of a four-year long court battle, the Thirteenth Court of Appeals of Texas has ruled in favor of Texas Central, holding that it is both a railroad company and interurban electric railway. This legal process stems from landowners along the proposed route in Leon County who argued that the Texas Central project…

METRO’s Smart Project Management Means Major Financial Boost from Feds

METRO’s Smart Project Management Means Major Financial Boost from Feds

The federal government is rewarding METRO and the Houston region with up to $18.5 million in grant money for construction of a new transit center. The money was originally part of the financing for the METRORail Northline extension.  When that project was completed early and significantly under budget, METRO sought to utilize those savings for…

MILESTONE: First Look at the interior layout of the Texas High-Speed Train

MILESTONE: First Look at the interior layout of the Texas High-Speed Train

Times are changing for travelers moving between Texas’ two largest regions, Houston and North Texas. What was once either a tireless slog or a hurry-up-to-slow-down frisking is being replaced by the best travel experience the world has to offer.   In short, nothing that exists today in the United States can come close to matching the…

First African-American woman appointed to Port of Houston Authority board

Mayor Turner and City Council approved historic nomination   HOUSTON – Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Houston City Council voted yesterday to approve the nomination of Cheryl Creuzot to serve as a member of the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority. Creuzot, a highly respected business and civic leader, will be the first…

Houston’s Hobby Airport Starts 2020 With New Airline, Maintenance Facility

Houston’s Hobby Airport Starts 2020 With New Airline, Maintenance Facility

Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport is marking the start of the new year with a couple of big announcements. Earlier this week, Allegiant announced it added Houston as one of a few cities it’ll begin serving in 2020. According to its press release, the new seasonal nonstop routes from Hobby Airport include Knoxville, TN, Asheville, NC, Savannah,…

THE STATE OF THE PORT: PEOPLE MAKE IT POSSIBLE

THE STATE OF THE PORT: PEOPLE MAKE IT POSSIBLE

Port Houston Commission Chairman Ric Campo delivered the 2019 State of the Port Address at the Greater Houston Partnership’s annual event November 21. He reported solid revenues and tonnage numbers, and expectations for continued growth. He also emphasized that the success of the port is made possible by the people who work in the Port…

Houston Set to Lead the Way in Space Economy

Houston Set to Lead the Way in Space Economy

As the first word spoken by Apollo 11 astronauts from the surface of the moon in the summer of 1969, Houston has long been synonymous with space exploration.   Thousands of aerospace industry experts, entrepreneurs and government leaders gathered in Houston last week to address strategic issues impacting the commercial space industry at SpaceCom, the international Commercial Space…

AECOM weighs in on long distance Texas hyperloop construction

AECOM weighs in on long distance Texas hyperloop construction

In a presentation to the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (CAMPO) Transportation Policy Board in Austin, Texas, AECOM’s Steven Duong updated the regional planning agency on high-speed transportation options between the Texas cities of Forth Worth and Laredo, with several stops along the Interstate 35 corridor. Scoring the highest in its evaluation was a hyperloop…

SMALL BUSINESS GRADUATES HONORED BY INTERAGENCY MENTOR PROTÉGÉ PROGRAM

Port Houston’s small business and education outreach department recently hosted a graduation reception for the Interagency Mentor Protégé Program 2019 class on the M/V Sam Houston. With the guidance of local agencies, twenty-one protégés are now on the path to discovering new resources and taking their companies to new heights after completing the program. The…

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT APPROVED FOR HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL EXPANSION PROJECT

A professional services contract of $5.5 million was approved by the Port Commission and awarded to TC&B/GBA, a joint venture of Turner Collie and Braden, Inc. and Gahagan & Bryant Associates, Inc. at the September Port Commission meeting. The ship channel expansion work includes critical-path professional services for engineering, design and project coordination. The widening…