Bay Area Edition | April 2023

TRANSPORTATION UPDATES TxDOT prioritizing Hwy. 146, FM 646 projects in Bay Area

COMPILED BY JAKE MAGEE

ONGOING PROJECTS

Widening FM 646 and another section of Hwy. 146 are among the projects the Texas Department of Transportation is prioritizing in the Bay Area. During a Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership meeting March 22, TxDOT engineer Eliza Paul shared details on some of the local projects the organization is focusing on in the coming years. The widening of Hwy. 146 through Seabrook and Kemah will be com- plete by the end of the year, but soon another section of the road will be widened. This May, TxDOT will begin accepting contractor bids for a Hwy. 146 widening project from FM 518 to Dickinson Bayou, Paul said. The project will widen the road from four to six lanes and is expected to cost $177.8 million and take three years to complete. The project includes new sidewalks and bridges, according to Paul. FM 646 from west of Hwy. 3 to Hwy. 146 will also be widened from two to four lanes with a raised median. The project will go to bid in May 2024 and will cost $72 million and take two years to complete, Paul said. The bridge connecting Pelican Island to Galveston Island will also be reconstructed at a cost of $118.4 million. The three-year project will go to bid in July 2025, Paul said. When it comes to planning future projects, TxDOT is still considering the Grand Parkway. Segment B from Hwy. 288 to I-45 has been approved for construction and is expected to go to bid in the next two or three years, Paul said. “That one is actually going to go

MAJOR INCOMING PROJECTS Over the next few years, the Texas Department of Transportation will begin two major projects in the Bay Area.

KOBAYASHI RD.

NASA Parkway improvements Webster is making improvements to NASA Parkway between Hwy. 3 to Kobayashi Road. Contractors are removing asphalt pavement and brick pavers, installing concrete pavement with raised and landscaped medians, installing new sidewalks, straight- ening and painting light poles, and improving safety where trees get close to electrical poles. The work is expected to take a year and will include some lane closures. Cost: $7.08 million Timeline: March 2023-March 2024 Funding source: city of Webster

GALVESTON BAY

HWY. 146 WIDENING Section: FM 518 to Dickinson Bayou Cost: $177.8 million Construction timeline: three years Goes to bid May 2023

FM 646 WIDENING Section: west of Hwy. 3 to Hwy. 146 Cost: $72 million Construction timeline: two years Goes to bid May 2024

518

146

646

517

DICKINSON BAYOU

528

SOURCE: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONCOMMUNITY IMPACT

BAY AREA BLVD.

out the door pretty quick,” she said. TxDOT ocials are still looking for the best way to connect the Grand Parkway from I-45 to Hwy. 146, which would be known as Segment A, Paul said. Most of the area where Segment A could go are fully developed, so it is a challenge to nd a path for Segment A that would disrupt as few busi- nesses and residences as possible, but TxDOT is studying the problem, Paul said. Paul said these major projects are a direct response to the rapid growth in Texas and the Greater Houston area. In 2010, Texas had about 25.15 million residents. As of 2020, it was 29.15 million—a growth of 15.9%. Every day, 1,000 people are added to Texas’ population, making it one of

the fastest-growing states in terms of population, Paul said. Congestion aects travel times and costs for freight and commuters, making it a priority of TxDOT’s to reduce congestion, Paul said. “We need to do something about it,” she said. TxDOT’s Unied Transportation Program is a 10-year plan to gure out what road projects across the state have funding and are ready to move down the pipeline toward construction. This year, TxDOT’s plan includes $116.9 billion in funding, including maintenance and planning, and the 2024 plan is looking to be upward of $140 billion, Paul said. “What that means is we can put more projects in the pipeline to be funded,” she said.

GRISSOM RD.

ABIGAIL LN.

CLEAR CREEK

ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF MARCH 29. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT BAYNEWSCOMMUNITYIMPACT.COM. divided highway with accompany- ing drainage improvements. Work is ongoing on the eastbound lanes, and overall, the project is about 65% complete. Cost: $8.53 million Timeline: April 2022-June 2023 Funding source: city of League City Grissom Road widening Grissom Road east of Bay Area Bou- levard and just north of Clear Creek is being converted from a two-lane rural road with an open ditch to a four-lane

Kimberly Harding, Broker/Owner 281-554-7653 Kimberly@KimberlyHarding.com 2490 Calder Dr, League City, TX 77573 www.TheKimberlyHardingGroup.com

BAY AREA EDITION • MAY 2023