BY JESSICA SHORTEN
Also of note
What’s next
Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley will also have two projects within the boundaries of The Woodlands. According to Riley’s project list, he plans to reconstruct Kuykendahl Road from FM 1488 to Research Forest Drive. The improvements are estimated to cost $8 million, and include: • An increase from two to four lanes • Adding traffic signals to Kendall Green Drive • Turn lane extensions Riley brought the project before The Woodlands Township board of directors on Jan. 22 to garner support for the project. “We’ve done a number of things to try to make this [roadway] a better situation,” Riley said on Jan. 22. “Anything we could do to clean up some of this congestion and make the traffic mobility and traffic movements easy, ... I think it’s a major project for our road bond.” Another project impacting The Woodlands
If the bond initiative passes in the May election, bond funds will be issued annually through 2029. As of press time, commissioners have yet to discuss a course of action if the bond fails.
1488
242
KENDALL GREEN RD.
Bond timeline
2025
N
April 22: First day of early voting
greater area would be funded by Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray’s Office, which would complete the extension of David Memorial Drive in Shenandoah to Hwy. 242. The project will provide another access point to the Houston Methodist Hospital for emergency vehicles as well as res- idents and other people traveling through the area.
May 3: Election day
August: The earliest the county can receive bond funds and begin work August 2026: County could receive $120M bond disbursement
2026
2027
Measuring the impact
2029: All bond projects under construction in progress or completed August 2028: County can receive final bond disbursement of $90M-$120M August 2027: County could receive $120M bond disbursement
The bond announcement comes as Conroe ISD is working to accommodate increasing traffic along corridors such as Kuykendahl Road. According to traffic count information from the Texas Department of Transportation, average daily traffic at Kuykendahl and FM 1488 increased from 10,813 vehicles in 2020 to 15,407 in 2024. Paula Klapesky, principal at George P. Mitchell Intermediate School, wrote a letter to commission- ers and the township board of directors in January
regarding the increased traffic along Kuykendahl where her school is located. “[George P. Mitchell Intermediate] has gone from a neighborhood school now to what I con- sider a school on an interstate for safety purposes,” Klapesky said. “I’d just like you to consider the safety of our children in our schools now, and I’ve seen the substantial growth over that time with almost 1,300 children in our school.”
2028
2029
SOURCES: LJA ENGINEERING, BOK FINANCIALS/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
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THE WOODLANDS EDITION
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