West Alabama Reconstruction Project
The West Alabama Street Drainage and Mobility Improvements project from Shephard Drive to Spur 527 is included in Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 27’s (TIRZ 27) adopted and approved by the City of Houston Capital Improvement Plan. The project is comprised of mobility and drainage improvements just over 2 miles of West Alabama, from Shephard Drive to Spur 527.
The Project includes:
- Full concrete roadway reconstruction
- New city-compliant 6-ft sidewalks (reduced as needed for existing trees)
- New street lighting
- New larger storm sewers
- New sanitary sewer and water lines
- New traffic signals will replace all existing traffic signals
- Preserve as many mature trees as possible and add new trees where possible
- New pavement markings (lane lines and crosswalks)
- New traffic light at Hazard
West Alabama Improvement Project Frequently Asked Questions
The West Alabama Improvement Project is a planned reconstruction of approximately 1.6 miles of West Alabama Street between Shepherd Drive and Spur 527. The project will address aging pavement, drainage challenges, pedestrian conditions, utilities, signals, and overall corridor functionality while preserving mature trees. This project will connect to West Alabama projects in Midtown and Upper Kirby with similar lane configuration.
West Alabama Street is showing significant deterioration and experiences recurring drainage issues. Sidewalk conditions are inconsistent, inadequate and in poor condition, the center turn lane is unclear in places, and signal infrastructure and utilities are aging. Reconstruction allows these issues to be addressed comprehensively rather than through incremental repairs.
The current roadway consists of three vehicular lanes (two through lanes + one center turn lane) within a roughly 60-foot right-of-way, with sidewalks of varying widths along each side. The project must fit within the existing right-of-way.
No, the lane widths will not increase. The current vehicular lane widths are between 12 and 12.5 feet as shown in the figure below. The proposed lane widths are 11 feet.
A 2023 Johns Hopkins study, https://narrowlanes.americanhealth.jhu.edu/report/JHU-2023-Narrowing-Travel-Lanes-Report.pdf (refer to pages 4 and 79), compared the number of non-intersection crashes at 9-foot vs. 12-foot lanes for roads with 30-35 mph speed limits. Nine-foot lanes have significantly lower crashes than 10-foot, 11-foot or 12-foot lanes, all 3 of which have virtually identical crash rates. However, 9-foot lanes are not contemplated for West Alabama. Reducing the lane width to 9-feet creates problems for emergency vehicles, which are generally 8.5ft wide but with mirrors fully extended can exceed 9 ft. The 11-foot traffic lane width is consistent with typical urban collector street standards that are still expected to allow fire apparatus and ambulances to travel safely through the corridor.
Yes. Comments received from the community at the Open House indicated they fought hard to get the center turn lane and didn’t want to give it up. The 60-foot right of way will allow for two through lanes and one center turning lane. The existing condition is a poorly marked center turn lane. The proposed center turn lane will be better marked, which will increase safety on the roadway. This, along with the narrowed lanes, will increase safety for all roadway users.
Conceptual alternatives that included protected bike lanes were evaluated during early planning, however, with a right-of-way as narrow as 60 feet, there is insufficient space to add bike lanes to two through lanes and one turning lane. In addition, designs incorporating that element are not consistent with current City of Houston mobility and design guidance for this corridor. Also, Montrose’s segment sits between the Upper Kirby and Midtown segments. Since both of those segments do not include bike lanes, our segment should remain consistent with them. As a result, protected bike lanes cannot be incorporated into a design submitted for City approval.
The TIRZ will kick off the Montrose Greenways Planning Study in Winter 2026 to create an off-thoroughfare active transportation connectivity plan.
This corridor is a part of the “GATEWAY SCENIC DISTRICT
https://www.scenichouston.org/post/houston-s-scenic-districts-where-city-life-meets-natural-beauty
https://geogimsprod.houstontx.gov/Html5Viewer/index.html?viewer=Scenic_Districts_ROW
Within the available right-of-way, the project is evaluating a configuration that includes:
- Full concrete roadway reconstruction
- New city-compliant 6-ft sidewalks (reduced as needed for existing trees) with ADA compliant pedestrian ramps
- New street lighting
- New larger storm sewers
- New sanitary sewer and water lines
- New traffic signals will replace all existing traffic signals
- Preserve as many mature trees as possible and add new trees where possible
- New pavement markings (lane lines and crosswalks)
- New traffic light at Hazard
Final design details remain under development.
Approximately 200–300 comments were received through the June 23, 2025, open house and related outreach. Feedback reflected a range of perspectives on corridor priorities, including safety, business access, traffic operations, pedestrian conditions, and multimodal features. Comment summaries and responses are publicly available on the project webpage here https://montrosehtx.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/MRA-W-Alabama-06-23-25-Meeting-Comment-Responses.pdf.
Safety is a central objective of the project. The design team is evaluating multiple safety measures within the framework of City standards, including:
- clearer lane organization
- improved pedestrian crossings
- signal upgrades and coordination
- new signalization at Hazard Street
- improved sidewalks and accessibility
- adequate safety buffer between travel way and pedestrian to provide a comfortable and safe walk for pedestrians
Crash data is one of several factors considered in corridor design. A review of available data from 2018–2024 indicates approximately 500 reported crashes within the broader study area. Travel patterns during this period were influenced by factors including COVID-related reductions in traffic volumes and operational changes such as the 2023 restriping of the center lane from reversible operation to a two-way left turn lane.
Recent data also indicates three reported bicycle-involved crashes along the corridor within the past two years.
The proposed design is expected to improve safety compared to existing conditions through clearer lane organization, reconstructed sidewalks, and signal enhancements such as protected left-turn phases at intersections.
Tree preservation is a project priority. Existing trees will be evaluated individually during design, with efforts focused on preservation where feasible and replacement strategies where impacts are unavoidable. Our intent is to preserve large, mature live oak trees. A tree protection plan will be developed as part of the design process.
The project includes significant drainage improvements to address recurring ponding and stormwater challenges along the corridor. Reconstruction allows upgrades to subsurface infrastructure that cannot be achieved through surface-level maintenance. The following upgrades are proposed for the drainage system:
- Drains to Shepherd: Dual 5-ft x 3-ft storm sewers
- Drains to Spur 527: Single 8-ft x 4-ft storm sewer
- 5.5 ac-ft of detention, which will contribute to street ponding reduction and neighborhood resiliency
No, only preliminary engineering was done. The only open house was held, on June 23, 2025, presenting the current concept for the project. The design phase began in January 2026 when the Design Scope and Fee was fully executed by the City of Houston. City approval of the final design will not occur until the end of the design phase.
The West Alabama Reconstruction Project is made possible via a $11,149,937 grant secured through the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). TIRZ 27 funds will be used for the remainder of the project.
The project team is designing the reconstruction of W Alabama Street consistent with current City design guidelines. That design will be presented publicly later this year as design advances.
Yes. Additional public meetings and comment opportunities will occur as the proposed design is developed and presented. Community participation is an important part of the project process.
Project updates, meeting materials, and engagement opportunities are posted on the Montrose Redevelopment Authority website. Residents and stakeholders are also encouraged to attend Board meetings and participate in public comment opportunities.
Schematic
Opening Presentation for June 23rd W Alabama Public Meeting
W Alabama Street Reconstruction Project Community Feedback
Thank you to everyone who wrote notes on the boards, filled out comment cards or sent email comments on the West Alabama Reconstruction Project. We received more than 200 comments, which will be helpful as we begin the design process. We have recorded those comments and our responses in the attached link. If you have any questions, please email info@montrosehtx.org.