TRANSPORTATIONUPDATES Agencieswork to alleviateGrandParkway tra c
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Congestion has been building along the Grand Parkway between FM 1093/ Westpark Tollway and the Katy Free- way for some time, Fort Bend County o cials said. Fort Bend County, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority are coordinating on three projects to alleviate the congestion. Fort Bend County Engineer Ike Akinwande said the area is a focal point for Precinct 1 Commissioner Vincent Morales, who is pushing for accelerating the design and the con- struction of projects that will extend Grand Parkway’s main lanes and add frontage roads. Meanwhile, the FBCTRA is the managing agency behind creating two connectors going east and westbound fromWestpark Tollway to Grand Parkway northbound, FBCTRA Chief Operating O cer Mike Stone said. “The most signi cant impact of [this] project will be the reduction of turning movement in the intersection, particularly the left-hand turns from eastbound to northbound,” Stone said. Collaborativee ort The roughly $48 millionWestpark Tollway to Grand Parkway connector project aims to provide drivers easier and faster access to the parkway, FBC- TRA ProgramManager Phillip Smith said in an email. The project is funded by toll road revenue bonds and from partnering special districts, he said. Though construction was initially expected to begin by mid-2020, progress was halted, and construction instead began in January and will end in summer 2024, Smith said. Meanwhile, TxDOT is designing
PARKWAY PROJECTS
County and state entities are collaborating on several projects happening around the Grand Parkway and Westpark Tollway intersection.
LAKEVIEW WAY
Grand Parkway widening The TxDOT project will add a third lane to the existing northbound and southbound lanes between FM 1093 and Kingsland Boulevard. Cost: $99.5 million Timeline: November-TBD Grand Parkway frontage roads Seven projects will extend Grand Parkway’s frontage roads northbound from Fry Road to Highland Knolls Drive and southbound from Highland Knolls to FM 1093. Cost: $90.45 million Timeline: winter 2022-TBD Westpark Tollway, Grand Parkway connector It will create two connector roads going east and westbound from Westpark Tollway to Grand Parkway northbound. Cost: $48 million Timeline: January-summer 2024
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Prairie Parkway extension The Katy Development Authority is extending the four-lane Prairie Parkway from Boardwalk Drive to Kingsland Boulevard and adding pull- in parking to create mobility within the Katy Boardwalk District. Timeline: May-August Cost: $1.86 million Funding source: KDA cash funds
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CINCO RANCH BLVD.
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Hwy. 6 resurfacing Texas Department of Transportation o cials will spearhead a resurfacing project along an 8.5-mile portion of Hwy. 6 north of the Katy area. The project will involve the resurfacing of roadways to eliminate cracks and potholes. The rst section of work will extend from Hwy. 290 to Aspenglenn Drive, and the second will stretch from Aspenglenn Drive to Park Row. Timeline: May-second quarter 2023 Cost: $8.98 million Funding source: TxDOT 2ND SECTION
SOURCES: FORT BEND COUNTY, FORT BEND COUNTY TOLL ROAD AUTHORITY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
another Grand Parkway project that will add a third lane to the existing northbound and southbound main lanes betweenWestpark Tollway and Kingsland Boulevard, TxDOT Public Information O cer Deidrea George said. The roughly $99.5 million project will be sent to bid in August with construction set to start in November. Fort Bend County is also construct- ing two-lane frontage roads alongside Grand Parkway. Seven projects totaling $90.45 million will extend the northbound frontage road from Fry
Road up to Highland Knolls Drive, and the southbound frontage roads will run fromHighland Knolls to FM 1093. Work on the rst two segments will begin this winter: southbound front- age roads fromWestheimer Parkway to Cinco Ranch Boulevard and Fry Road to FM 1093, Akinwande said. Other segments will begin between winter 2023 and early 2025. Fort Bend County’s 2020 mobility bond will fund much of the projects’ design, but con- struction funding for some segments is still being determined, he said.
ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF MAY 12. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT KTYNEWS COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM.
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