TRANSPORTATIONUPDATES O cials approve $300Mtransfer of surplus toll revenue Harris County commissioners
COMPILED BY SHAWN ARRAJJ
approved the transfer of $300 million in surplus toll revenue to the county’s general fund Nov. 10 that will be used for transportation needs. The move followed a discussion at a Sept. 15 meeting at which the county considered forming a new limited government corporation that would use surplus toll road revenue for more purposes, includ- ing those that fell outside the realm of infrastructure and mobility. At the Nov. 10 meeting, Harris County Budget Director Dave Berry said the county had since moved away from that idea. “The $300 million transfer, which was originally contemplated in a lim- ited government corporation, would still be made to the county,” Berry said. “Now it would be restricted to transportation-related purposes.” Once transferred to the general
The Harris County Toll Road Authority made a $300million transfer of surplus revenue to Harris County’s general fund in November. That money can be used for a variety of transportation needs countywide. (Anna Lotz/Community Impact Newspaper)
fund, County Judge Lina Hidalgo said the funding could be used to pay o road debt and on projects that fall at the nexus of transportation and ood control, among other uses. During the September discussions, Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle opposed the formation of the LGC, arguing the money collected from toll roads should not fund
projects unrelated to infrastructure. About $137 million in toll road rev- enue was transferred to the county’s precincts for local mobility projects in scal year 2019-20. Hidalgo said the allocations to precincts would increase to $175 million under the new plan. The county’s engineering department is conducting a study to determine how that funding should be allocated across precincts.
COMPLETED PROJECT
PROJECTMILESTONE
PROJECT UPDATE
LITTLE CYPRESS CREEK
SPRING CYPRESS RD.
LOUETTA RD.
HUFFMEISTER RD.
249
290
290
1960
COPPER GROVE BLVD.
6
N. ELDRIDGE PKWY.
STABLEWOOD FARMS DR.
N
N
N
North Eldridge Parkway improvements
Hwy. 6 bridge A new four-lane yover bridge connect- ing FM 1960 to Hwy. 6 over Hwy. 290 opened to tra c in Cy-Fair on Nov. 1, sev- eral weeks ahead of schedule. Although the bridge is open, crews with TxDOT will continue to work on the nal elements of the project through December, which includes work on new northbound Hwy. 6 frontage roads that will remain closed during construction. Timeline: September 2019-December 2020 Cost: $41.4 million Funding source: TxDOT
Louetta Road extension Harris County Precinct 3 is working to build a new segment of Louetta Road connecting Stablewood Farms Drive to Telge Road in a joint project with Precinct 4. Precinct 3 is working on the part of the project west of Little Cypress Creek, and Precinct 4 is completing the bridge over the creek and the part of the road to the east. When completed, the road will be a four-lane concrete boulevard with twin bridges over Little Cypress Creek. Timeline: Sept. 14, 2020-March 2022 Cost: $8.8 million (split evenly between each precinct) Funding sources: Harris County Precinct 3 and Precinct 4
A joint project between Harris County Precinct 4 and the Texas Department of Transportation was completed Sept. 30 which aims to improve tra c ow along North Eldridge Parkway between Clay and Spring Cypress roads. The project included new tra c signals at several Cy-Fair intersections, including at Cas- tlebridge, Chriswood, Firebrick, Normont and Quail Creek drives. Part of the project entailed extending the northbound and southbound left turn lanes on North Eldridge at FM 1960. Timeline: April 8, 2019-Sept. 30, 2020 Cost: $4.3 million Funding sources: Harris County, TxDOT
ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF NOV. 17. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT CYFNEWS COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM.
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CY FAIR EDITION • DECEMBER 2020
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