From the cover
County seeks $58M for roads
The impact
What’s happening?
Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack said congestion along the Grand Parkway and incoming development east of I-45 was the driving force behind requesting relief to the area now rather than later. “Completed and future residential and com- mercial developments along the Grand Parkway in the vicinity of Rayford Road and Birnham Woods Drive are creating a higher trac demand than those existing frontage road lanes will be able to handle,” Noack said. According to trac data from TxDOT, the intersections along Grand Parkway between Rayford Road and Birnham Woods Drive have experienced heavier trac ow year over year. At the Birnham Woods Drive intersection north of the Grand Parkway, TxDOT’s annual average daily trac counts increased from 5,000 to over 18,000 from 2011 to 2021. At Rayford Road, average daily trac counts north of the Grand Parkway over the last decade have more than doubled from 13,070 in 2011 to 28,746 in 2021, TxDOT data shows.
• Improved on- and off-ramps from I-45 to Hardy Toll Road • An additional frontage lane on Grand Parkway at Rayford Road • Lane improvements at Rayford Road and Grand Parkway Originally, Precinct 3’s request only included major projects, such as future I-45 reconstruction. However, after discussion with TxDOT and Commissioners Court, the list was amended to focus on more local mobility projects. Consulting rm WSB was brought in to study the additional improvements on the Grand Parkway. The $19.57 million requested for south Montgomery County will help fund the following steps: • Environmental assessment • Surveying • Right-of-way mapping and acquisition • Design plans and speciications • Construction
Following the end-of-year review by the Montgomery County Commissioners Court on Dec. 19, a list of projects was sent by the county to the Texas Department of Transportation through the H-GAC to be considered for construction. In south Montgomery County, two major projects are expected to go under construction within the next year with additional small projects aimed at improving mobility east of I-45. The design will be funded through pass-through toll nancing, a mechanism that allows counties to use toll funds collected through the Montgomery County Toll Road Authority toward local road improvement projects, county ocials said. A total of 12 projects were compiled by Montgomery County commissioners from each precinct, with Precinct 3 having the largest funding request for $19.57 million out of $58 million in total requests. Some of the projects submitted within Precinct 3 include:
Preliminary work includes:
Annual average daily trac counts
99 TOLL
2011
2016
2021
6
Eastbound Grand Parkway east of Birnham Woods 5,170 4,030 8,327
5
BENDERS LANDING BLVD.
45
4
3
1
99 TOLL
2
LOCKERIDGE FARMS DR.
Birnham Woods north of Grand Parkway 5,000 10,230 18,764 Birnham Woods south of Grand Parkway 6,220 6,419 16,483
N
N
1 Rayford Road center lane Project: Rayford Road center lane under Grand Parkway will become shared thru-left-turn lane Cost: $40,000 2 Right-turn lane addition Project: Adding a dedicated right-turn lane from Grand Parkway to Lockeridge Farm Drive Cost: $175,000 3 Frontage lane addition Project: Adding a third eastbound frontage lane from Grand Parkway to Birnham Woods Drive Cost: $700,000
4 Right-turn lane addition Project: Adding a dedicated right-turn lane on Grand Parkway frontage road to Birnham Woods Drive Cost: $320,000 5 Frontage lane addition Project: Adding a third eastbound Grand Parkway frontage road lane at Benders Landing Boulevard Cost: $1.15 million 6 Ramp addition Project: Hardy Toll Road braided ramp construction Cost: $12.9 million (includes construction)
Rayford Road north of the Grand Parkway 13,070
18,819
28,746
NOTE: THIS LIST IN NOT COMPREHENSIVE, AND COSTS ARE FOR PRELIMINARY WORK.
SOURCE: MONTGOMERY COUNTYCOMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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