Election
BY JESSICA SHORTEN
Montgomery County pursuing $480M road bond in May
Montgomery County commissioners agreed Feb. 11 to put a $480 million road bond referendum before voters in the May 3 election. Funds will be divided among the four commissioner precincts, meaning Precinct 2 will receive $120 million over the next ve years to complete 19 projects, with 11 of those projects in the Magnolia area. The referendum will be the rst bond sent to the voters by the county in 10 years. The last bond was held in 2015 for $280 million, and went before voters in the May and November elections before being passed. John Robuck, managing partner at BOK Financials, the county’s bond counsel, said the bond initiative should not result in a property tax increase if it is approved by voters. Robuck said this is because the county lowered its debt service over the last several years to allow for the issuance of $120 million a year in debt using the county’s current funding collections. “I’m making three-lane roads out of everything I’ve got,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley said during a Jan. 31 workshop. “I’m putting in lanes, 11-foot turn lanes, 8-foot shoulders ... reconstruction from the ground up.”
Reconstructions/widenings
New location roadway segments
1774
1488
249
HIGHLAND BLVD.
WOODTRACE BLVD.
DOBBIN HUFFSMITH RD
OLD HOCKLEY RD.
PINE LN.
GOODSON LOOP
HARDIN STORE RD.
WALNUT CREEK RD.
STAGECOACH RD.
BUTERA RD.
WRIGHT RD.
TURTLE CREEK WAY
DECKER PRAIRE RD.
249
GLENMONT ESTATES BLVD.
N I C H
ROBERTS CEMETERY RD.
2920
N
SOURCES: MONTGOMERY COUNTY PRECINCT 2 COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE, LJA ENGINEERING COMMUNITY IMPACT
What’s next
What they're saying
Measuring the impact
The majority of Precinct 2’s list proposes total reconstructions, which includes widening lanes and reformatting turn lanes to improve tra c ow, Riley said. Roadways on the list include Hardin Store Road, Butera Road and Goodson Loop. “We’ve got our own tra c counts that we’ve done [with] our own drones. ... We’re trying to gure out how we can get people in and out of school safer, and getting them in and out of those intersections safer,” Riley said. However, one new construction project will be Woodtrace Boulevard, which is set to be extended from Dobbin Hu smith Road to FM 2978. The Precinct 2 project list also includes a widening and reconstruction of Kuykendahl Road from FM 1488 to Research Forest Drive. In Precinct 3, which extends to FM 2978, some of the projects include shoulder replacement along Woodlands Parkway and extending the dual left turn lanes at the intersection of Woodlands Parkway and Branch Crossing Drive.
If the bond initiative passes in the May election, bond funds will be issued annually through 2029.
"You need to put stu on the ground. I can get started on the
day I get the money, and I won't stop until we're through."
April 22 First day of early voting May 3
CHARLIE RILEY, MONTGOMERY COUNTY PRECINCT 2 COMMISSIONER
Election day August 2025 The earliest the county can receive bond funds and begin work August 2026 & August 2027 County could receive $120M
"We're not just using this money for the next three years; we're using it for the next stage, which is 15 20 years." RITCH WHEELER, MONTGOMERY COUNTY PRECINCT 3 COMMISSIONER
disbursement August 2028 County can receive nal disbursement
All bond projects are under construction, in progress or complete 2029
SOURCES: LJA ENGINEERING, BOK FINANCIALS COMMUNITY IMPACT
15
TOMBALL MAGNOLIA EDITION
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