One of the SHORTEST I have typed and a GIANT Paste
One DPS CTD works the Coops by the Brazos on I-10 ~728.
That is in AUSTIN and Waller County.
Have seen plenty TxDOT CTDs.
Here is a little something that proves me wrong on my little smarta__ remark about the ship channel. However it also dispells your notion of more cars = bad.
PRESS RELEASE
From the Office of State Senator Jon Lindsay
For Immediate Release
February 28, 2000
Houston, We Have a Problem: AIR QUALITY
Recently, Houston earned the dubious distinction of having the smoggiest air in the country, surpassing Los Angeles. That distinction can be somewhat misleading, however. It is not so much that Houston's smog problem has gotten worse in recent years (it has basically remained at the same level), but rather that L. A. has taken aggressive steps to reduce their smog levels. I point this out not to try to lessen Houston's smog problem, but rather to show that cleaning our air is not an impossible task. If L. A. can do it, so can we.
Smog, also called ground-level ozone, can trigger all kinds of respiratory problems, from sore throats and watery eyes, to life-threatening asthma attacks. Worse, ozone (smog) levels tend to be higher in warmer months-- months in which people are more likely to be pruning the garden, playing softball, running, and engaged in other outside activities, breathing the unhealthy ozone.
Houston's ground-level ozone reached unsafe levels 52 times last year. In fact, on the single worst day of 1999, the concentration of ozone was double the amount considered unsafe. While we Texans have a proud reputation for the most and biggest of everything, having the most smog and biggest smog problem is not something to brag about.
But isn't ozone good? Doesn't it block out the harmful ultraviolet rays that cause skin cancer? Yes, ozone is good-- at thirty miles up in the atmosphere where no one breathes it. At high altitudes, it acts as a kind of insulation over the earth. But when it forms at levels closer to the ground and people breathe it, ozone poses serious health risks. Numerous studies have shown that exposure to high ozone levels correlate with increased numbers of emergency room visits for asthma and other respiratory complications. To continue with the insulation analogy: the insulation in your house may be good in the attic, but you don't want to breathe it.
So what do we do to clean up our air? First, it is important to understand that ozone does not come directly out of a tailpipe or smokestack. Rather, it forms in the air in a complex chemical reaction from pollutants that do come out of tailpipes and smokestacks and from vaporized chemicals. According to experts, the best way for Houston to cut ozone levels is to cut its chemical components, specifically to reduce the amount of NOx emissions from tailpipes and industry smokestacks.
A lot of people think our air problem is all industry's fault. Some believe that there are ten or twelve old dirty "grandfathered" toxic chemical plants along the ship channel billowing out tons of thick, black smoke, and that if we could just clean up those ten or twelve plants, Houston would have crisp, clean, fresh air. Unfortunately, the problem is much bigger than that.
Imagine shutting down and then bulldozing every single industrial facility in the Houston area (which includes Harris County and the eight surrounding counties). Not just the ten or twelve factories along the ship channel, but every refinery, every manufacturing facility, and every plant. Every business with any industrial activity would be shut down and there would be no more industrial emissions. But our air would still not be clean enough to meet the federal ozone standard.
On the other hand, some believe the air problem is rooted in our love affair with cars, the thirty year-old clunkers, SUVs, and diesel trucks, the kind that you can smell even with your windows up and your air conditioner on max. If we would just carpool more or ride bikes or construct light rail or build more HOV lanes, Houston would have crisp, clean, fresh air. Unfortunately, the problem is bigger than the biggest SUV or diesel truck on the road.
Imagine taking every thirty-year-old clunker, SUV, diesel truck, and back hoe off the road. In fact, imagine taking every car, truck, bus, piece of construction equipment, motorcycle, and even moped off the road. Everyone in Houston would be walking or riding a bike and there would be no more mobile emissions. But our air would still not be clean enough to meet the federal ozone standard.
Houston's smog problem will not be solved with an either/or solution. To reduce our ozone to an acceptable level, we must cut NOx emissions by approximately 763 tons per day. If that sounds like a lot, it is. That translates into a 90% reduction by industry and a 50% reduction in mobile source (cars & trucks) emissions of NOx.
Make no mistake, finding a solution is not going to be easy. Tough choices are going to have to be made which will prove to be both expensive and unpopular. The technology required to clean up cars will cost from $100-$200 extra per vehicle, and the reformulated, cleaner-burning fuel will cost around 4 cents extra per gallon. Estimates are in the billions of dollars for adequate industrial pollution-control measures.
Some may say 'Well, so what? Maybe ozone levels are too high, but to fix the problem will be expensive and intrusive. I am willing to breathe smoggy air so that I can drive my diesel truck to my job at the refinery. ' Unfortunately, even that is no longer an option.
The U. S. Congress amended the Clean Air Act in 1990 and included tougher air quality standards for ozone. As with most federal mandates, the Clean Air Act comes with carrots and sticks. The carrot is that lowered ozone levels bring improved public health. On the other hand, there is a big stick awaiting should we fail to clean up the air, a stick that comes in the form of two dire economic penalties.
The first penalty would be a total cutoff of federal highway funding. Although estimates vary, this could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in lost highway projects, and approximately 5,000 construction jobs eliminated, not to mention the ripple effect on construction-related business. If you think traffic is bad now, imagine how bad it could be if we are unable to build any more roads.
Second, any new business coming into the area would have to trade emissions on a 2-for-1 basis. In other words, if Exxon wanted to open a new refinery that was expected to contribute 8 tons of emissions a year, it would have to find an existing plant willing to cut emissions by 16 tons. Since most businesses would presumably be trying to cut emissions as much as possible, there would be very few, if any, willing or able to make such an emissions trade. With new businesses unable to locate to Houston, economic growth would grind to a halt.
I continue to be amazed at the coalition that has come together to find a solution to Houston's smog problem. People that before could hardly stand to be in the same room-- local business and industry leaders, along with elected officials, environmental groups, and consumer advocates-- are working together with the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission (TNRCC) to put together a plan to clean up our air. I am confident that we will succeed.
At the end of the day, some will say the plan goes too far, others not far enough. But one thing is certain: we must work together to find a solution. Failure is not an option. If we do nothing, Houston will literally and economically be strangled by its own smog.
BTW. Seeing that I am outside the Houston/Galveston Non-Attainment area, I will continue to buy my fuel in Austin County; and I will smoke all the way in to Houston and back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
As much as I disagree with the CARB has implemented emissions testing I'm the first to admit that the results are positive. I lived in Claremont (suburb of LA) in the late 70's - a few miles from the base of Mt. Baldy. Baldy is ~8000ft and about half the time you couldn't see it. In the mid/late 90s I lived in Torrance/Long Beach and there has been a marked improvement in air quality over the 20 year period. Getting smoking/polluting cars off the road is part of that solution. 
