Irvington Roundabout
Since landing in office on January 1st, the Mayor has targeted one safety improvement project after another. The Irvington Roundabout is on his list!
Irvington Boulevard, from I-610 to Hardy Toll Road, is a corridor that runs north to south for approximately three miles through the Northside and Northline neighborhoods of Houston.
Most of this corridor is on Houston’s High Injury Network. The High Injury Network represents 58% of traffic deaths and serious injuries occurring on 9% of Houston streets.
“From 2018 to 2022 there were a total of 42 recorded crashes at the intersection, with nine possible injuries and two minor injuries, according to a Houston Public Works presentation on the project,” Houston Public Media.
Injury or suspected injury crashes jumped to four in 2020 and three in 2023.
Change is hard for Houston’s drivers but when built with modern features, roundabouts reduce all crashes by 30%, injury crashes by 60%, and fatal crashes by 90%.
About the Roundabout
In December of 2020, the city applied for and received an HSIP grant from TxDOT to address the corridor’s speeding and excessive number of crashes. It was completed in October of 2024.
Roundabouts aren’t random. TxDOT has specific criteria it uses to determine if an intersection qualifies before it funds and approves the design.
The city will have to repay the $200,000 HSIP grant, in addition to the costs to remove the roundabout and replace it with something else. The prior configuration at this dangerous T intersection wasn’t working. Wasting our money like this is unacceptable.
What is HSIP?
The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a federal program which provides funds to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries on our roads.
Take Action
Contact Councilmember Mario Castillo, District H at districth@houstontx.gov and the Mayor at mayor@houstontx.gov to let them know the roundabout works and we need it to stay.
