Houston Intermodal Transit Center Explained

Burnett Plaza
Type:Intermodal
Address:Main Street and Burnett Street, Houston, Texas
Coordinates:29.7724°N -95.3599°W
Other:Intercity Bus, Light Rail
Years1:Cancelled
Events1:February 2011
Accessible:yes
Owned:Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas
Other Services Header:Proposed services

The Houston Intermodal Transit Center (also known as Burnett Plaza) was a planned hub for local, commuter, and intercity transit in Houston (Texas, USA). The site is located adjacent to the campus of the University of Houston–Downtown (UHD). The center would have eventually replaced the Houston Amtrak station, as well as various bus terminals throughout the city such as Greyhound Lines.[1]

Design

The transit center was designed by EE&K.[2] The plan for the structure would have been a modern glass and steel building surrounding a "great space". Because the facility would have been built over the tracks, one of the dominant features would have been a grand staircase. The center was designed as a multi-level station with heavy rail (commuter, Amtrak, Union Pacific freight) running under a large public space with light rail running via an elevated structure. Main Street would have been split into Upper Main Street, with access to the station at the level of the public space in a loop, and Lower Main Street, which would have gone underneath the entire station and continued on as North Main Street.

Cancellation

Following METRO's 2010 annual audit, the agency decided to cancel the project as part of a US$168 million write-down of worthless or non-existent assets. The value of the land US$21 million was to be recorded separately as a remaining asset.[3]

A smaller light rail station and bus terminal, named Burnett Transit Center, opened in 2013 on the southeast corner of Main and Burnett.[4]

Notes and References

  1. News: July 17, 2008 . Greyhound's Houston station may move . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120905082704/http://www.khou.com/archive/66684967.html . September 5, 2012 . . May 31, 2016.
  2. Web site: Houston Northern Intermodal Facility / Perkins Eastman . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160810084814/https://www.perkinseastman.com/project_3405905_houston_northern_intermodal_facility . August 10, 2016 . 2017-05-22 . www.perkinseastman.com.
  3. News: Moran . Chris . February 21, 2016 . Houston transit takes a $168M hit for useless projects . . July 10, 2016.
  4. News: Begley . Dug . December 20, 2013 . North Line latest step, but hardly the last . Houston Chronicle . July 10, 2016.