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107-768: HCTRA came into being in September 1983 after Harris County voters approved a $ 900 million bond referendum by a 7–3 margin to release up to $ 900 million in bonds to create two toll roads – the Hardy Toll Road and the Sam Houston Tollway – to improve the regional mobility and reduce traffic congestion in the Greater Houston area, an area known for rapid population growth. The need for a county-run toll road system came from TxDOT's budget shortfall and its inability to authorize funding to upgrade

214-471: A Commissioner to represent them on the commissioners court and oversee county government functions in the precinct. Other elected positions in Harris County include a County Attorney , a County Clerk , a District Attorney , a District Clerk , a Sheriff , eight Constables , a Tax Assessor-Collector, a County Treasurer , and every judge in the county except municipal judges, who are appointed by

321-597: A 4-mile (6.4 km) spur to George Bush Intercontinental Airport . The Westpark Tollway is a 22-mile (35.4 km) toll road starting in Uptown Houston and traveling westward parallel to sections of Westpark Drive and FM 1093 and terminating just past FM 723 in Fulshear, Texas . It is the first all-electronic toll road in the United States . The Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority (FBCTRA) operates

428-463: A bellwether in presidential elections, voting for winners of every presidential election from 2000 through 2012 (both Barack Obama and Texas resident George W. Bush won the county twice). As a result of the Obama sweep in 2008, many Democratic candidates in contests for lower-level offices also benefited, and many Republican incumbents were replaced by Democrats in the Harris County courthouse. Some of

535-411: A female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.38. In the county, 29.00% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.3% was from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.4%

642-831: A gateway approved technical stop, allowing its Houston originating flights to land at Heathrow. While keeping a daily Houston–Gatwick flight, British Airways operated a flight from Houston to Heathrow via Washington-Dulles , with the technical stop being later changed to Chicago-O'Hare and finally to Detroit . In March 2008, the Bermuda II agreement was replaced with the EU–US Open Skies Agreement , allowing Continental Airlines and British Airways to switch its London services from Houston to Heathrow Airport that summer. Gate BA presently operates double-daily flights to London's Heathrow Airport with Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 service. As of 2007, Terminals A and B remain from

749-495: A number of severe weather events, such as the following hurricanes and tropical storms: According to the United States Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 1,777 square miles (4,600 km ), of which 1,703 square miles (4,410 km ) is land and 74 square miles (190 km ) (4.2%) is covered by water. Both its total area and land area are larger than the U.S. state of Rhode Island . As of

856-492: A path to citizenship provided they speak English and have no criminal record, holding from 83% in 2013, which was up from 19% in 2009. In 2013, 87% supported background checks for all firearms, the latest year that question was included in the Kinder Houston Survey. This measure has moved up steadily from 60% in 1985 to 69% in 2000. The 1910 county courthouse was renovated in the 1950s to update its systems. In

963-643: A shared ticketing, departure, and arrival hall. Terminal D will be extensively refurbished with a new concourse, Pier D West, being constructed. The ITRP should be complete by late 2024 or early 2025. Future expansion plans call for a Central D and East D pier to be built as passenger numbers grow, with the full project being capable of handling 33 million enplaned international passengers annually. George Bush Intercontinental Airport has five terminals and 121 total gates. The Skyway automated people mover system provides airside connections between all five terminals. The Subway provides landside connections between

1070-531: A toll. The four lane roadway, running between I-610/West Loop and SH 6 , has been completed. The lanes opened during the second quarter of 2009. The Tomball Tollway consists of a 7.5-mile (12.1 km) segment of three toll lanes in each direction from Spring Cypress Road up to Sentinel Oaks in Pinehurst . Texas State Highway 249 serves as toll-free frontage roads for the Tomball Tollway. Tolling on

1177-648: A unanimous vote by the Montgomery County Commissioners Court on May 28, 2019, the tolls were lifted, and ownership and maintenance of both flyover ramps were transferred to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). As a result, HCTRA stopped collecting tolls on the flyover ramps. To help alleviate congestion on SH 288, HCTRA had planned to construct toll lanes in the median of the existing freeway. The route would begin at I-69/US 59 just south of Midtown and terminate at

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1284-621: A way of saving taxpayer money. The chief administrative officer of a Texas County, as set up in the Texas Constitution , is the County Judge , who sits as the chair of the county's Commissioners' Court (the equivalent of a Board of Supervisors in some other states). In 2019, Judge Lina Hidalgo was sworn in as the County Judge. The county is split into four geographical divisions called precincts. Each precinct elects

1391-496: A week operated with Boeing 707 jetliners to Mexico City; KLM Royal Dutch Airlines operating Douglas DC-8 jets four days a week to Amsterdam via an intermediate stop in Montreal; Braniff International with Boeing 727 services several times a week to Panama City, Panama ; and Aeronaves de Mexico (now Aeroméxico ) flying Douglas DC-9 jets to Monterrey , Guadalajara , Puerto Vallarta , Acapulco and Mexico City several days

1498-484: A week. Texas International was also operating direct services to Mexico at this time with Douglas DC-9 jets to Monterrey and Convair 600 turboprop flights to Tampico and Veracruz . KLM introduced Boeing 747 services in 1971 and by 1974 Air France was operating four nonstop Boeing 747 flights a week to both Paris and Mexico City. Also in 1974, Continental, Pan Am, and National were operating McDonnell Douglas DC-10 wide body jetliners into IAH while Delta

1605-533: Is a cast bronze tree that plays instrumental music by Joe Ely and David Byrne , though the music is normally turned off. The corridor leading to Terminal A displays Leamon Green 's "Passing Through," a 200-foot (61 m) etched glass wall depicting airport travelers. The elevators in Terminal B are cased in stainless steel accordion shaped structures designed by Rachel Hecker. The corridor leading to Terminal B has Dixie Friend Gay 's "Houston Bayou." This work

1712-400: Is a complete tolled beltway loop around Houston (minus a few minor sections that are freeways managed by TXDOT). The Hardy Toll Road was constructed to help alleviate traffic off of I-45 North. The route begins at I-610 North between I-45 North and I-69/US 59 North and travels northward parallel to I-45 for 21.6 miles (34.8 km) after which it merges onto I-45. The toll road also features

1819-553: Is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas ; as of the 2020 census , the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third-most populous county in the United States . Its county seat is Houston , the most populous city in Texas and fourth-most populous city in the United States. The county was founded in 1836 and organized in 1837. It is named for John Richardson Harris , who founded

1926-626: Is an international airport in Houston , Texas , United States , serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Initially named Houston Intercontinental Airport upon its opening in 1969, it was renamed in honor of George H. W. Bush , the 41st president of the United States and a resident of Houston, in 1997. It is also commonly called Houston International Airport or George Bush International Airport . Located about 23 miles (37 km) north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69 / U.S. Highway 59 with direct access to

2033-457: Is composed of an 8 ft × 75 ft (2.4 m × 22.9 m) Byzantine glass mosaic mural depicting scenes from Houston's bayous and wetlands, several bronze animals embedded in the floor, and five mosaic columns. "Lights Spikes," designed by Jay Baker, was created for the 1990 G7 Summit when it was hosted by President George H. W. Bush in Houston. The sculpture was relocated to

2140-452: Is near the Crosby census-designated place and has a Crosby postal address. The county had a poor farm in what is now West University Place that closed in 1923. The county cemetery was formerly there; the bodies were transferred to the new property. The county has an elections administrator and elections office, which was non-partisan but under the oversight of Democrat Lina Hidalgo ,

2247-470: Is one of the largest passenger hubs for United Airlines and formerly also served as a hub for defunct Continental Airlines and Texas International Airlines . A group of Houston businessmen purchased the site for Bush Intercontinental Airport in 1957 to preserve it until the city of Houston could formulate a plan for a new airport as a replacement for William P. Hobby Airport (at the time known as Houston International Airport). The holding company for

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2354-580: Is only one direct connector ramp from Beltway 8 East to Hardy Toll Road North. Expected construction start date is unknown. This project (which began in early 2020) will add a total of four direct connectors: two from northbound Tomball Tollway to east and westbound SH 99 (Grand Parkway) , with the other two connecting to southbound Tomball Tollway from east and westbound SH 99. Ramps from SH 99 to southbound Tomball Tollway opened in July 2022; Tomball Tollway ramps to SH 99 remain under construction. Added capacity

2461-636: Is planned for the following existing tollway segments: The project will connect I-610 via the South Post Oak exit (which terminates south of West Bellfort) to the northern terminus of the Fort Bend Parkway at US 90 Alternate with just over 3 miles (4.8 km) of tolled lanes. In October 2019, HCTRA began to examine plans for the segment utilizing the original 2003 schematics. Project is no longer being built, as of March 30, 2010. The planned project would have added four tolled lanes along

2568-467: The Houston Chronicle said that residents of Harris County were "consistently conservative in elections" and that they were, according to a Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research opinion poll, "surprisingly liberal on topics such as immigration, gun control and equal matrimonial rights for same-sex couples". Harris is regarded as a moderate or swing county in Texas, and has been

2675-478: The 2020 census , there were 4,731,145 people, 1,692,730 households, and 1,156,059 families in the county. The population density was 2,771.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,070.2/km ). There were 1,842,683 housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 38.2% White , 19.0% African American , 1.1% Native American , 7.9% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 17.7% from Some Other Races and 15.8% from two or more races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 39.9% of

2782-761: The Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority . HCTRA also operates managed lanes that run along the median of I-10/Katy Freeway between SH 6 and I-610 that opened in April 2009. The most recent project of HCTRA is the Tomball Tollway , which was completed in phases between 2015 and 2019. On March 1, 2020, operations of the Lynchburg Ferry and the Washburn Tunnel were transferred from Harris County Precinct 2 to

2889-523: The Hardy Toll Road expressway, George Bush Intercontinental Airport has scheduled flights to a large number of domestic and international destinations covering five continents. It is the busiest airport in Texas for international passenger traffic and a number of international destinations, the second-busiest airport in Texas as of 2021 and the 15th busiest in the United States for total passenger traffic as of 2022 IAH covers 10,000 acres (40 km ) of land and has five runways. Houston Intercontinental

2996-642: The North Texas Tollway Authority 's TollTag since 2003. Around the 3rd quarter of 2017, the system will be interoperable with the Kansas Turnpike Authority 's K-Tag and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority 's PikePass . The following toll roads (in order of first segment completion) form the current HCTRA system: The Sam Houston Tollway is the name given to the tolled sections of Beltway 8,

3103-629: The Texas Medical Center , hotels in the Westchase and Energy Corridor business districts, the city of College Station and William P. Hobby Airport . Super Shuttle uses shared vans to provide services from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to the surrounding communities. Ed Carpenter 's "Light Wings", a multicolored glass sculpture suspended below a skylight, adorns the Terminal A North Concourse. In Terminal A, South Concourse stands Terry Allen 's "Countree Music." Allen's piece

3210-423: The commissioners' court . Each Texas county has four precinct commissioners and a county judge. Although this body is called a court, it conducts the general business of the county and oversees financial matters. The commissioners court may hire personnel to run major departments, such as health and human services. Besides the county judge and commissioners, the other elective offices found in most counties include

3317-520: The 21st century, the facility received another major renovation. Completed in 2011, the $ 50 million, eight-year project was designed to restore notable historic aspects of the courthouse while providing for contemporary communication and building needs. The Texas First Court of Appeals and the Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals , since September 3, 2010, are located in the 1910 Harris County courthouse. Previously they were located on

Harris County Toll Road Authority - Misplaced Pages Continue

3424-533: The Fort Bend Toll Road is jointly operated with the FBCTRA. In 2002, HCTRA entered into an agreement with TxDOT and Harris County for the reconstruction of I-10/Katy Freeway. The toll road authority's portion of the project is a 12-mile (19.3 km) managed lane facility in the center of the reconstructed freeway that is used by METRO and HOV vehicles at no charge and single passenger vehicles for

3531-640: The Hardy Toll Road at I-610. Planning for the Hardy Toll Road connection into Downtown Houston was announced in 2000. The project will be completed in two phases. Phase I consists of moving a railroad line, right of way acquisition, and the construction of two overpasses. Phase II will be the construction of 4 toll lanes. Relocation of the rail line is expected to begin Fall of 2012. To relieve congestion on surface streets, direct connectors between Hardy Toll Road and Beltway 8 will be constructed. Currently there

3638-713: The Hardy Toll Road never had the traffic that the HCTRA envisioned it would need to turn a profit, the Sam Houston Tollway has more than made up for the lost revenue. The high profit margins on the Sam Houston Tollway allowed the authority to construct its third and fourth toll roads, the Westpark Tollway and Fort Bend Toll Road , both of which opened in 2004. Both of these toll roads have termini in Fort Bend County and are run in conjunction with

3745-616: The Harris County Cemetery on Oates Road in Houston, which previously had housing for elderly people. It has 18 acres (7.3 ha) of land. It was established in 1921 on property taken from police officers who had acted corruptly. The county paid $ 80,000 for 100 acres (40 ha) of land, then put in the Harris County Home For the Aged, a poor farm for elderly people of all races which had a capacity of 100;

3852-477: The Harris County Judge. The State of Texas Legislature passed a law, SB 1750, that asks for the position to be abolished effective September 2023, as the law states that any county with at least 3,500,000 persons should have elections done by the clerk and tax assessor-collector; of all Texas counties, only Harris would be affected. This was done following failings in the 2022 election, as confirmed by

3959-705: The Harris County Toll Road Authority. There are no plans for HCTRA to implement tolls either the Lynchburg Ferry or the Washburn Tunnel. Nevertheless, HCTRA's involvement will include plans to improve the operations of both facilities, as well as much-needed repairs and upgrades. The HCTRA uses their own toll tag called the EZ TAG . The system has been interoperable with the Texas Department of Transportation 's TxTag and

4066-477: The Hempstead Highway corridor between I-610 and the future Grand Parkway (SH 99) northwest segment. The project was one component of the complete US 290 corridor upgrade by TxDOT, which also included added capacity to US 290, a new HOV system parallel to the Hempstead Highway, and a possible commuter rail line in conjunction with METRO. However, in April 2012, it was announced by HCTRA that the primacy of

4173-838: The Hempstead Tollway was handed off to TxDOT. Construction of the tollway by TxDOT is not anticipated for several years. Although both of them are located within Montgomery County and were at the time owned and operated by Montgomery County Toll Road Authority (MCTRA), HCTRA formerly collected tolls for MCTRA for two flyover ramps: one from northbound I-45 to SH 242 westbound and the other from westbound SH 242 to I-45 southbound near The Woodlands . Both flyover ramps were completed on May 11, 2015, and were tolled between July 6, 2015, and May 28, 2019. Both ramps solely utilized electronic toll collection , and required drivers to own an EZ TAG, TollTag or TxTag transponder . After

4280-642: The Houston Area Asian Survey of the Kinder Institute of Urban Research Houston Area Survey stated that between 1990 and 2000, the Asian population in Harris County increased by 76%; between 2000 and 2010, it increased by 45%. Economically, Harris County along with other Texas counties has one of the nation's highest property tax rates. In 2007, the county was ranked in the top 25 at 22nd in the nation for property taxes as percentage of

4387-703: The Houston Area. They added Bush airport as their tenth crew base and Focus city. In 2020, George Bush Intercontinental Airport began undergoing a $ 1.3 billion capital improvement program called the IAH Terminal Redevelopment Program (ITRP). The flagship project of this program is the construction of the Mickey Leland International Terminal (MLIT), which will consolidate what is today Terminal D and Terminal E into one centralized terminal including

Harris County Toll Road Authority - Misplaced Pages Continue

4494-644: The Intercontinental Airport area in 1965. This annexation, along with the 1965 annexations of the Bayport area, the Fondren Road area, and an area west of Sharpstown , resulted in a gain of 51,251 acres (20,741 ha) of land for the city limits. Houston Intercontinental Airport , which was the original name for the airport, opened in June 1969. The airport's IATA code of IAH derived from

4601-616: The Red Fish Bar. Some of those passengers traveled further up the bay system, but it is not known whether they settled up Buffalo Bayou or the San Jacinto River . One of these passengers, a Mr. Ryder, settled at what is now known as Morgan's Point, Texas . Also in 1822, John Iiams settled his family at Cedar Point after sailing from Berwick's Bay, Louisiana . Dr. Johnson Hunter arrived just after Iiams. He also wrecked his boat near Galveston. He settled at Morgan's Point and

4708-767: The Taiwanese airline EVA Air operates a shuttle bus service from Bush IAH to Richardson in the Dallas-Fort Worth area so DFW based customers may fly on its services to and from Houston. Previously China Airlines , also a Taiwanese carrier, provided a shuttle bus service to Sugar Land and the Southwest Houston Chinatown . It ended in 2008 when China Airlines ended its Houston passenger service. Carriers provide scheduled bus and shuttle services to locations from IAH to NRG Park / NRG Astrodome , Downtown Houston , Uptown , Greenway Plaza ,

4815-494: The Toll Road Authority to administer the construction and operation of the new road system. Then-County Judge Jon Lindsay is generally credited with shepherding the referendum from its infancy to its passage, along with the implementation of the plan for the roadway. HCTRA was a part of Harris County's Public Infrastructure Department and is subdivided into a Services and an Operations Division. While for many years,

4922-562: The Tomball Tollway is all-electronic; an EZ TAG, TollTag or TxTag are required for passage. No cash or pay-by-mail option is available for the Tomball Tollway. Construction of Phase I of the Tomball Tollway between Spring Cypress Road and the north end of the Tomball Bypass began in Fall 2013 and was finished on April 12, 2015. Phase II of the SH 249 (Tomball Tollway) project, in partnership with Montgomery County Toll Road Authority , extends

5029-579: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as the highest performing housing authority in the region and was named one of America's 10 best Public Housing Authorities. Guy R. Rankin , IV is chief executive officer of Harris County Housing Authority (HCHA). The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates some correctional facilities in Harris County, including: As of 2001, Kegans and Lychner serves male state jail offenders from Harris County, with Kegans getting lower-risk offenders and Lychner getting higher-risk and special-needs offenders. If both of

5136-520: The United Kingdom, France, Japan, Canada, Italy and Germany, as well as the European community. The airport has a display of lighted modern sculptures between terminals C and D. Radiant Fountains , LED-illuminated towers on JFK Boulevard, is the most prominent sculpture around the airport. The airport houses an on-site hotel, a Marriott , between Terminals B and C and is accessible via

5243-421: The United States, behind only Cook County, Illinois . Harris also has the second largest Hispanic population in the nation, behind only Los Angeles County, California . As of the 2010 census , there were 4,092,459 people, 1,435,087 households, and _ families resided in the county. The population density was 2,402.4 inhabitants per square mile (927.6/km ). There were 1,598,613 housing units. The racial makeup of

5350-599: The Vince brothers. Nicolas Clopper arrived in the Galveston Bay area from Ohio in the 1820s. He attempted to develop Buffalo Bayou as a trading conduit for the Brazos River valley. He acquired land at Morgan's Point in 1826. John Richardson Harris (1790–1829), for whom the county was later named, arrived in 1824. Harris had moved his family to Sainte Genevieve, Missouri Territory, where they had been residing until

5457-540: The airline is replacing its Los Angeles gateway for Houston. The route will be serviced using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and will be the city's only gateway to Africa after service to Lagos, Nigeria, was canceled by United Airlines. Service was supposed to begin in June 2019, but was delayed until December 2019. Service began on December 16, 2019. Ethiopian Airlines has since discontinued the route. In October 2020, Southwest Airlines announced it would return to Bush airport for

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5564-411: The airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport/Houston , after George H. W. Bush , the 41st president of the United States. The name change took effect on May 2, 1997. On August 28, 1990, Continental Airlines agreed to build its maintenance center at George Bush Intercontinental Airport; Continental agreed to do so because the city of Houston agreed to provide city-owned land near the airport. At

5671-501: The airport for many years, operating a variety of aircraft including Boeing 727-200 , Boeing 737-200 , Boeing 737-300 , Boeing 737-400 and Douglas DC-8 jetliners into IAH in addition to the BAC One-Eleven. In 1977, British Caledonian , commenced nonstop flights between London's Gatwick Airport and Houston with Boeing 707 service, and later with DC-10 and Boeing 747-200 service. British Airways continued operating

5778-455: The airport from either road. From Downtown one could also take Interstate 45 (North Freeway), connect to Beltway 8, and enter the airport from the Beltway. The Hardy Toll Road has an exit from the north or south to the airport. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas , or METRO, offers bus services available at the south side of Terminal C. The 102 Bush IAH Express serves

5885-654: The airport had scheduled helicopter airline services operated by Executive Helicopters with Bell 206L LongRanger helicopters to four Houston-area heliports with up to 36 round trip flights a day. Since Houston was not an approved gateway for U.S. to London Heathrow flights under the Bermuda II Agreement , Continental Airlines , and British Airways flew their London services to Gatwick Airport . British Airways, keen to allow its passengers access to connections at its larger Heathrow Airport hub, subsequently flew various routings from Houston to Heathrow, via

5992-466: The airport outside E Terminal after the meetings, from its original location in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center . The columns lean at a ten-degree angle toward a central point that represents Houston. The distance between each "spike" and this point is relative to the distance between Houston and the capitals of the countries the flags represent. The countries represented are the United States,

6099-654: The airport's original design. Lewis W. Cutrer Terminal C opened in 1981, the Mickey Leland International Arrivals Building (now called Terminal D) opened in May 1990, and the new Terminal E partially opened on June 3, 2003. The rest of Terminal E opened on January 7, 2004. Terminal D is the arrival point for all international flights except for United flights, which use Terminal E. Flights from Canada on Air Canada and WestJet arrive in terminal A. Terminal D also held customs and INS until

6206-612: The airport. Previously, METRO also operated an express bus service known as Airport Direct, launched in the summer of 2008, which traveled from Downtown Houston to Terminal C via the HOV lane of the Eastex Freeway (I-69) / (US 59) . In 2010, in an effort to increase ridership and maximize revenue, METRO reduced the fare of Airport Direct and closed a dedicated passenger plaza for the service in Downtown Houston; instead,

6313-560: The area dates from about 1400 BC, 1 AD, and later in the first millennium. The region became uninhabited from 1 AD to European contact. Little European activity predates 1821. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca may have visited the area in 1529. French traders recorded passing through in the 18th century. Spaniards attempted to establish a fort in the area around the same time, but did not persist for long. The first recorded European settlers in Harris County arrived in 1822. Their schooner sailed into Galveston Bay and ran aground on

6420-626: The bus stopped at several downtown hotels. The fare each way was reduced from $ 15 to $ 4.50. The fare change increased ridership levels but reduced cash flow. METRO consistently provided the service at an operational loss. However, in the summer of 2011, METRO announced it was discontinuing the Airport Direct service, while the Route 102 local service (which serves the greater Greenspoint business and residential district before traveling on I-45 to access downtown) continued to operate. As of 2016

6527-549: The campus of the South Texas College of Law . The Harris County Jail Complex of the Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) is the largest in Texas, and one of the largest in the nation. In July 2012, the facility held 9,113 prisoners. To handle overcrowding in the facility, the county had to ship inmates to other counties and some are housed out of the state. The county has a potter's field ,

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6634-962: The county aged five and older spoke English only, while 44.4% spoke another language at home, alone or together with English; Spanish remained the second most spoken language (35%). In 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in Harris County was the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston , with 1,947,223 Catholics worshiping at 109 parishes, followed by 579,759 Southern Baptists with 811 congregations, 348,461 non-denominational Christian adherents with 577 congregations, 182,624 United Methodists with 124 congregations, an estimated 117,148 Muslims with 47 congregations, 44,472 LDS Mormons with 77 congregations, 39,041 Episcopalians with 43 congregations, 34,957 PC-USA Presbyterians with 49 congregations, 33,525 Churches of Christ Christians with 124 congregations, and 30,521 LCMS Lutherans with 46 congregations. Altogether, 58.4% of

6741-520: The county attorney, county and district clerks, county treasurer, sheriff, tax assessor-collector, justices of the peace, and constables. As a part of the checks and balances system, counties have an auditor appointed by the district courts. Harris County was one of the earliest areas of Texas to turn Republican. It voted Republican in all but one presidential election from 1952 to 2004, the lone break coming when native Texan Lyndon Johnson carried it in his 44-state landslide in 1964. In 2008, Barack Obama

6848-411: The county during the 2018 elections, as it did nationwide. In 2020, Joe Biden improved Clinton's performance by two points while Donald Trump only increased his vote share by one point. Though it has shifted towards Democrats in recent years, Harris County has nevertheless voted to the right of Dallas , Travis , Bexar , and El Paso , each of which has a smaller population. In 2013, Allen Turner of

6955-556: The county was 58.3% White , 18.8% African American , 0.6% Native American , 6.7% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 12.9% from Some Other Races and 2.6% from two or more races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 36.8% of the population. As of the 2000 census , there were 3,400,578 people, 1,205,516 households, and 834,217 families resided in the county. The population density was 1,967.0 inhabitants per square mile (759.5/km ). There were 1,298,130 housing units at an average density of 751 per square mile (290/km²). The racial makeup of

7062-409: The county was 58.73% White , 18.49% African American , 0.45% Native American , 5.14% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 14.18% from Some Other Races , and 2.96% from two or more races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 32.93% of the population. Of the 1,205,516 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 13.7% had

7169-408: The county were Spanish or Spanish Creole (1,106,883 speakers), Vietnamese (53,311), Chinese (33,003), French including Louisiana French and Patois (33,003), and Urdu (14,595). Among these groups, 46% of Spanish speakers, 37% of Vietnamese speakers, 50% of Chinese speakers, 85% of French speakers, and 72% of Urdu speakers said that they spoke English at least "very well". In 2020, 55.6% of

7276-506: The county), and the 701 Jail (formed from existing warehouse storage space) are on the same site. The Community Services Department provides community services. The department maintains the 20 acres (8.1 ha) Oates Road Cemetery (also known as the Harris County Cemetery) for indigents in eastern Houston , near the former Southern Bible College . In March 2010, the county adopted a cremation first policy, meaning that

7383-402: The county. The Harris County Sheriff's Office operates jail facilities and is the primary provider of law enforcement services to the unincorporated areas of the county. The sheriff is the conservator of the peace in the county. The Harris County jail facilities are in northern downtown on the north side of the Buffalo Bayou. The 1200 Jail, the 1307 Jail, (originally a TDCJ facility, leased by

7490-465: The county. They include: the Harris County Sheriff's Office , the Harris County Constable Office, the Houston Police Department , METRO Police Department , other municipal police departments, and school district police departments. The combined yearly sum spent by these agencies circa 2018 was $ 1.6 billion. That year the Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research released a report advocating for consolidating several of these agencies as

7597-463: The default preference for most indigents is to have them cremated instead of buried. As of 2010, the county authorized the Community Services Department to purchase about 50 acres (20 ha) of land in the Huffman area so the county will have additional spaces for indigent burials. The Harris County Housing Authority (HCHA) is a governmental nonprofit corporation which addresses the need for quality affordable housing. The HCHA has been recognized by

7704-734: The defeated Republican district court judges were later re-appointed to vacant District Court benches by Governor Rick Perry. In 2018, Democrats swept the court capturing all 59 seats on the civil, criminal, family, juvenile and probate courts. The Kinder Institute's Houston Survey in 2018 found that from 2014 through 2018 the number of Houston residents who supported adoption of children by same-sex couples climbed above 50% and remained there, while in 2017 over 56% of residents reported gay or lesbian persons among their circle of close personal friends. A 2013 opinion poll had found that 46% of Harris County residents supported same-sex marriage, up from 37% in 2001. Just above 82% favored offering illegal immigrants

7811-594: The early 1820s. Harris was granted a league of land (about 4,428 acres) at Buffalo Bayou. He platted the town of Harrisburg in 1826, while he established a trading post and a grist mill there. He ran boats transporting goods between New Orleans and Harrisburg until his death in the fall of 1829. The First Congress of the Republic of Texas established Harrisburg County on December 22, 1836. The original county boundaries included Galveston Island, but were redrawn to its current configuration in May 1838. The area has had

7918-1012: The first airport in Texas to receive A380 service. In addition, Lufthansa has also operated the Boeing 747-8 on the route. Dubai-based carrier Emirates has also operated the A380 on the Dubai-Houston route. IAH became the first airport in North America to have nonstop flights to every inhabited continent in 2017, with the addition of Air New Zealand , but lost this claim when Atlas Air ended its nonstop flight to Luanda . The airport regained this status in December 2019 when Ethiopian Airlines launched service to Lomé in Togo and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia . On September 7, 2017, United announced

8025-400: The first time since it stopped serving the airport in 2005. Service began in April 2021 with five nonstop destinations, augmenting the several dozen destinations it serves from Hobby airport. In 2024, however, Southwest suspended the service to Bush airport once again. On July 20, 2022, Spirit Airlines crew base plans were cleared. It was also announced that Spirit will bring 500 new jobs to

8132-462: The five terminals and the airport hotel. Terminals D & E have access to an international arrivals facility, and Terminal D has gates to support super jumbo jets including the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 . From Downtown Houston one can travel to George Bush Intercontinental by taking Interstate 69 / U.S. Route 59 (Eastex Freeway) to Beltway 8 or to Will Clayton Parkway, and access

8239-571: The grounds of Bush Airport. Midway planned to develop a travel center for the airport's rental car facility. The city dictated the developer needed to place a convenience store and gas station facility, a flight information board, a fast casual restaurant, and a sit-down restaurant in the development. Beyond the required buildings, the developer planned to add an office facility of between 20,000 and 40,000 square feet (1,900 and 3,700 m ) and additional retail space. In 2011, Continental Airlines began Boeing 777-200ER services to Lagos, Nigeria ; this

8346-531: The homes value on owner-occupied housing; the list only includes counties with a population over 65,000 for comparability. Additionally, Harris County residents had a median household income of $ 63,022 with a mean income of $ 93,184. Families had a median income of $ 73,274 and mean of $ 105,534; married-couple families $ 93,961 with a mean of $ 128,211; and non-family households a median of $ 43,488 and mean of $ 62,435. In 2000, 1,961,993 residents of Harris County spoke English only. The five most spoken foreign languages in

8453-600: The intersection of the proposed Grand Parkway (SH 99) for a total length of 26 miles (41.8 km). HCTRA would have maintain its segment north of Clear Creek at the Brazoria County Line. Shortly before construction began in November 2016, TxDOT's Toll Operations Division took control of the project from HCTRA. [REDACTED] Texas portal [REDACTED] U.S. Roads portal Texas State Highway 99 Harris County, Texas Harris County

8560-548: The investigation initiated by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg 's office. In August 2023, Karin Crump, the presiding judge of the 250th civil district court of Travis County, stated that this went against the Texas Constitution , citing how the law only affected one county. Crump's ruling was overturned by the Texas Supreme Court. The Harris County Flood Control District manages the effects of flooding in

8667-572: The land was named the Jet Era Ranch Corporation, but a typographical error transformed the words "Jet Era" into "Jetero" and the airport site subsequently became known as the Jetero airport site. Although the name Jetero was no longer used in official planning documents after 1961, the airport's eastern entrance was named Jetero Boulevard. Most of Jetero Boulevard was later renamed Will Clayton Parkway. The City of Houston annexed

8774-428: The late 1980s, Houston City Council considered a plan to rename the airport after Mickey Leland —an African-American U.S. Congressman who died in an aviation accident in Ethiopia . Instead of renaming the whole airport, the city named Mickey Leland International Arrivals Building, which would later become Mickey Leland Terminal D, after the congressman. In April 1997, Houston City Council unanimously voted to rename

8881-439: The launch of flights from Houston to Sydney , using a 787-9. The Houston–Sydney service, at 8,596 miles (13,834 km), is currently United's longest nonstop route. Additionally, it surpassed Emirates ' Dubai route as the longest flight at IAH. In January 2019, Ethiopian Airlines became the latest international carrier to announce new service, three-times weekly, to Addis Ababa. The route will be Addis Ababa–Lome–Houston, and

8988-768: The male state jails in Harris County are full, excess offenders go to the Gist Unit in Jefferson County . Female state jail offenders from Harris County go to the Plane Unit in Liberty County . The South Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility Unit, a parole confinement facility for males operated by Global Expertise in Outsourcing , is in downtown Houston, west of Minute Maid Park . As of 2018 there are over 60 law enforcement agencies operating in

9095-628: The mayors and confirmed by city councils of their respective cities. Many of the organs of the Harris County government reside in the Harris County Campus in Downtown Houston . In 2000, the largest employers in Harris County were Administaff , Compaq , Continental Airlines , Memorial Hermann Healthcare System , and Southwestern Bell . George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport ( IATA : IAH , ICAO : KIAH , FAA LID : IAH )

9202-524: The opening of the new Federal Inspection Service (FIS) building, completed on January 25, 2005. On January 7, 2009, a Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800 departing Bush Intercontinental was the first U.S. commercial jet to fly on a mix of conventional jet fuel and biofuel . In December 2009, the Houston City Council approved a plan to allow Midway Cos. to develop 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land owned by Houston Airport System (HAS) on

9309-534: The poor farm opened in 1922. Around that time, the county cemetery was also established there. The Harris County Commissioners closed the poor farm in August 1958. In 2014, no more burials were allowed to occur at the Oates Road facility due to overcapacity. By 2013 the county was building a second potter's field due to overcapacity at the first. Harris County Eastgate Cemetery had started operations in 2014. It

9416-482: The population was claimed as members by religious congregations, although members of historically African-American denominations were underrepresented due to incomplete information. In 2014, the county had 1,607 religious organizations, the third most out of all U.S. counties. County governments serve as agents of the state, with responsibilities defined in the Texas Constitution. Counties are governed by

9523-463: The population were below the poverty line, including 19.6% of those under age 18 and 12.20% of those age 65 or over. Overall, Harris County's population has recorded positive growth since the 1850 census tabulated-population of 4,668. Among the county population, once predominantly non-Hispanic white , the largest racial or ethnic group has become Hispanic or Latino Americans (43.01%) as of 2020. Following, non-Hispanic whites declined to 27.68% of

9630-450: The population. 25.6% of residents were under the age of 18, 6.7% were under 5 years of age, and 12.1% were 65 and older. With a poverty rate of 15.6% as of 2020, Children At Risk —a local nonprofit research organization—estimated 21% of the Harris County children lived in poverty, 6.5 per 1,000 die before age one, and 38% drop out of high school as of 2007. As of 2023, Harris County had the second largest population of Black Americans in

9737-405: The population; Black or African Americans were 18.72% of the area population, and Asian Americans made up 7.29% of the county; multiracial Americans increased to 2.57%, American Indians and Alaska Natives declined to 0.18%, and Pacific Islanders grew to 0.07% of the population. Having a large and growing Asian American community alongside Hispanics and Latinos and Black and African American,

9844-1075: The route, when in December 1987, BA took over B-Cal increasing its frequency on the route to double-daily. By July 1983, the number of domestic and international air carriers serving Intercontinental had grown substantially. American, Continental, Delta and Eastern had been joined by Piedmont Airlines , Southwest Airlines, TWA , United Airlines, USAir and Western Airlines . Western was operating daily McDonnell Douglas DC-10 wide body jet services nonstop to Salt Lake City at this time, with this flight also offering one-stop services to Anchorage, Alaska . International services were being operated by Air Canada , Aviateca , British Caledonian Airways , Continental Airlines, Eastern Air Lines, SAHSA , South African Airways , TACA, TWA and Viasa in addition to Pan Am, KLM, Air France, Aeroméxico and Cayman Airways. Several commuter and regional airlines were also operating passenger services at this time from IAH including Emerald Air (operating as Pan Am Express ), Metro Airlines, Rio Airways and Royale Airlines . Metro Airlines

9951-569: The second highway loop around Houston. The first opened section was the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge in the east quadrant of the road system. From 1982 to 1994, the bridge, which was originally named in honor of local politician and entrepreneur Jesse H. Jones , was maintained by the Texas Turnpike Authority (now North Texas Tollway Authority ). As of February 26, 2011, the Sam Houston Tollway

10058-471: The second loop around the city, Beltway 8, which had been on planning maps since the 1950s. The Texas Turnpike Authority turned down the opportunity to improve the road as well, leaving the county to upgrade the road to freeway standards. However, Harris County could not afford to build and maintain a freeway from its general fund. Shortly after the referendum, the Commissioners Court created

10165-490: The stylization of the airport's name as "Intercontinental Airport of Houston." All scheduled passenger airline service formerly operated from William P. Hobby Airport moved to Intercontinental upon the airport's completion. Hobby remained open as a general aviation airport and was once again used for scheduled passenger airline jet service two years later when Southwest Airlines initiated intrastate airline service nonstop between Hobby and Dallas Love Field in 1971. In

10272-445: The time of the opening of IAH in 1969, domestic scheduled passenger airline flights were being operated by American Airlines , Braniff International Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Air Lines, National Airlines and Houston-based Texas International Airlines , which had formerly operated as Trans-Texas Airways. International flights at this time were being flown by Pan American World Airways with ten nonstop flights

10379-594: The tollway north of the Tomball Bypass to Sentinel Oaks just north of Spring Creek in Montgomery County. From that point, the corridor will extend north to points beyond in Montgomery and Grimes Counties. Construction of Phase II commenced in Spring 2017 and was completed in December 2019. This 4-mile (6.4 km) long project will provide a connection between Downtown Houston and the current terminus of

10486-463: The town of Harrisburg on Buffalo Bayou in 1826. According to the July 2023 census estimate, Harris County's population has shifted to 4,835,125 comprising over 16% of Texas's population. Harris County is included in the nine-county Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area , which is the fifth-most populous metropolitan area in the United States. Human remains date habitation to about 4000 BC. Other evidence of humans in

10593-531: The westernmost 8 miles (12.9 km) of the tollway. The Fort Bend Toll Road is a 8.9-mile (14.3 km) tollway that follows the route of the formerly-cancelled State Highway 122. The toll road currently begins with direct connectors at US 90A, just north of the Sam Houston Tollway, and travels southward to its terminus at Sienna Ranch Road in Missouri City. As with the Westpark Tollway,

10700-430: Was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 42,598, and the median income for a family was $ 49,004. Males had a median income of $ 37,361 versus $ 28,941 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 21,435. About 12.10% of families and 14.97% of

10807-551: Was a grantee of land there. Nathaniel Lynch settled in the area and operated a ferry. In 1824, the land empresario, Stephen F. Austin convened at the house of William Scott for the purpose of conveying titles for Mexican headrights. He was joined by the land commissioner, Baron von Bastrop, and Austin's secretary, Samuel May Williams . About thirty families gained legal titles to land in what would later be known as Harris County. A few immigrants settled on Buffalo Bayou in these early years, including Moses Callahan, Ezekial Thomas, and

10914-716: Was also planning to commence nonstop Boeing 787 services to Auckland in New Zealand but these plans were canceled as a reaction to new international flights at Hobby Airport announced by Southwest Airlines . United — which acquired Continental and had fully integrated it into the United brand by early 2012 — had postponed the introduction of this service owing to delays associated with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner . Its 787s were put to use on other international routes, however, including Houston–London and United's then-new Houston–Lagos nonstop flights. The Houston–Auckland nonstop route

11021-463: Was flying Lockheed L-1011 TriStar wide body jets with both types being operated on respective domestic routes from the airport by these airlines; with National also operating Boeing 747s on a Miami–Houston–Los Angeles routing. By the late 1970s, Cayman Airways had begun nonstop flights between Grand Cayman in the Caribbean and Intercontinental with BAC One-Eleven jets. Cayman Airways served

11128-649: Was operating "cross-town" shuttle services with de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops with up to seventeen round trip flights a day between IAH and the Clear Lake City STOLport located near the NASA Johnson Space Center and also up to nine round trip flights a day between the airport and Sugar Land Regional Airport as well as other flights to regional destinations in Texas and Louisiana. In addition, at this same time

11235-715: Was the airport's first nonstop flight to the African continent. In May 2016, United ended the Houston–Lagos service citing the inability to repatriate revenue sold locally in Nigerian currency. South African Airways previously operated nonstop Boeing 747SP services in 1983 between Houston and Amilcar Cabral International Airport in the Cape Verde islands off the coast of Africa as a refueling stop for its flights between Houston and Johannesburg, South Africa . Continental

11342-466: Was the first Democrat to win the county since Texas native Lyndon Johnson in 1964. The city of Houston itself holds one of the highest concentrations of Democratic voters in the state, while suburban areas such as Cypress , Spring , and Katy in the county's western and northern areas, tend to be strongly Republican. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the county by the largest margin for a Democrat since 1964. The Democratic Party performed very strongly in

11449-456: Was then begun by Air New Zealand using a Boeing 777-200ER . In 2014, United added a second daily flight to Tokyo and new routes to Munich, Germany; Santiago, Chile; and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and it restarted the Aruba route, which had been canceled in 2012. In August 2012, Lufthansa switched its daily Houston–Frankfurt route to an Airbus A380 from a Boeing 747-400 , making Houston

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