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<br />COUf\u'L <br /> <br />I <br />f~ J-t <br />~i-A (ohlo+ A- <br /> <br /> <br />City of La Porte <br />Established 1892 <br /> <br />February 21, 2008 <br /> <br />The Honorable Nick Lampson <br />Congress of the United States <br />436 Cannon House Office Building <br />Washington, D.C. 20515 <br /> <br />Re: Appropriations Request FormIFiscal Year 2009 <br />State Highway 146 Overpasses at Wharton Weems Boulevard, Shoreacres <br />Boulevard, and Red Bluff Road <br /> <br />Dear Congressman Lampson: <br /> <br />Thank you for your invitation to submit a request for Fiscal Year 2009 project funding. The <br />referenced projects are extremely important to La Porte and the region. <br /> <br />State Highway 146 is the major north-south route through La Porte and is an important corridor <br />from 1-10 in Baytown to its intersection with 1-45. There is currently aproblem with traffic in <br />both passenger and freight from the Port of H9uston at all three intersections and will only <br />worsen. Also, vitally important to the entire region is hurricane evacuation. State Highway 146 <br />is a hurricane evacuation route programmed to move residents in the region northward through <br />La Porte. <br /> <br />The recent development of the Port of Houston Bayport Freight and Cruise Terminal has and <br />will place additional pressures on our community and the region. In one year (from 2006 to <br />2007) the northbound traffic at Wharton Weems increased by 14%, largely due to the opening <br />of Bayport. While a significant economic development engine, the pace of the Port's <br />construction has far out stripped TXDo T' s ability to react with the necessary funding and <br />construction. <br /> <br />Additionally, since the Port of Houston expansion, the City has seen the development of a 300 <br />Acre industrial business park known as Port Crossing directly adjacent to State Highway 146. <br />The main exit from this business park is Wharton Weems Boulevard. Likewise, the area east of <br />State Highway 146 is experiencing significant residential growth. Currently, there are <br />approvals for approximately 650 residential units that will eventually rely on this intersection. <br /> <br />604 W. Fairrnont Pkwyo · La Porte, Texas 77571 · (281) 471-5020 <br />