$6M Washington Avenue repaving moves forward before study results are in, raising concerns

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- $6 million will soon be spent to repave a stretch of Washington Avenue along I-10 and Franklin Street.

The work, which is set to begin next week, will start just a few weeks before findings from a $700,000 study examining ways to improve the street are published.

The city requested the study in 2021 through the Houston Galveston Area Council, a regional planning organization.

Earlier this month Metro approved a $24 million request to repave streets. According to a Metro spokesperson, about six million dollars from the request is going toward repaving Washington.

Board members said the decision was made at the request of the City of Houston.

"I understand that sometimes different parts of government go different speeds but it does seem like a bit of a lost opportunity," Washington Avenue resident and West End Civic Club Member Matt Tetlow who helped participate in the H-Gac study, which sought resident feedback, said.

Transportation advocate, Peter Eccles, of Link Houston says the stretch of Washington being repaved is part of the city's high-injury network,

In a statement, a Metro spokesperson told ABC13 the project will improve bus shelters and sidewalks while maintaining their original footprint.

They wrote, "With the work beginning on 1-10, commuters and our buses are getting diverted to Washington. We can't continue to let the roads deteriorate while more and more drivers and our buses need to use them."

They added that they felt the improvement was imperative ahead of several large events such as the RNC and World Cup.

"Which is a small share of streets where the majority of serious and fatal crashes occur again, as the city and Metro work together to repave this street. They could use this as an opportunity to redesign it to address those issues," he said.

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