Houston Intermodal Transit Center

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]

Burnett Plaza
Intermodal
Location	Main Street and Burnett Street, Houston, Texas
Coordinates	29.772432°N 95.359873°W
Owned by	Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas
Connections	Intercity Bus, Light Rail
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Key dates
Cancelled	February 2011
Proposed services
Preceding station METRORail Following station UH–Downtown toward Fannin South Red Line Quitman/Near Northside toward Northline Transit Center

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]

References

1. "Greyhound's Houston station may move". KHOU. July 17, 2008. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
2. "Houston Northern Intermodal Facility / Perkins Eastman". www.perkinseastman.com. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
3. Moran, Chris (February 21, 2016). "Houston transit takes a $168M hit for useless projects". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
4. Begley, Dug (December 20, 2013). "North Line latest step, but hardly the last". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 10, 2016.