Bay Area Edition | July 2023

TRANSPORTATION UPDATES More projects to widen Hwy. 146 incoming

COMPILED BY JAKE MAGEE & JAMES T. NORMAN

UPCOMING PROJECTS

LEAGUE CITY PKWY.

W. WALKER ST.

ONGOING PROJECTS start early 2024 Cost: $1.8 million Funding source: Galveston County League City Parkway and West Walk- er Street intersection improvements Workers will extend and add a couple of turn lanes at this intersection. Those being extended include each of the left-turn lanes that go eastbound to northbound and westbound to south- bound. New right-turn lanes for trac going northbound to eastbound, east- bound to southbound and southbound to westbound will also be installed. Timeline: construction expected to

JAKE MAGEECOMMUNITY IMPACT The widening of Hwy. 146 between Red Blu Road and FM 518 is expected to wrap up this year. WIDENING WORK

After over four years of work, the Texas Department of Transportation is on the verge of wrapping up a project to widen Hwy. 146 between Red Blu Road and south of FM 518. Seabrook ocials have said the project has been a pain point for residents and busi- nesses alike. However, before the project con- cludes, other Hwy. 146 work will begin to the north and south. Starting in August, TxDOT will begin widening a 5.5-mile section of Hwy. 146 between south of FM 518 and Dick- inson Bayou, south of Seabrook and Kemah, TxDOT Public Information Ocer Bambi Hall said in an email. This section of Hwy. 146 is currently four lanes wide and will be widened to six lanes. Additionally, TxDOT will construct a bridge on Hwy. 96 to tie into the new express bridge, Hall said. The express bridge, which is still under construction as part of the ongoing Hwy. 146 widening project, will allow drivers to bypass local trac, TxDOT ocials have said. The new widening project is expected to wrap up in late 2026. The project is expected to cost $198 million, Hall said. “The widening of Hwy. 146 is for emergency evacuations, such as hurricanes,” she said. Hall said Hwy. 146 from Red Blu Road north to Spencer Highway will eventually be widened from four to six lanes as well. Seabrook Economic

Development Director Paul Chavez said equipment has been placed alongside Hwy. 146 in preparation. “The north project is currently awaiting an environmental permit to proceed, which we hope to have some- time in October, but it can sometimes take up to a year,” Hall said. Chavez said he expects the northern widening project to be less disruptive than the widening through Seabrook and Kemah has been. “Our cities were built right up to the highway, where north of that they’re mostly warehouses and such … and mostly o the highway,” he said, noting TxDOT ocials will not have to displace businesses to widen Hwy. 146 to the north as they did through Seabrook and Kemah. Ongoing widening Chavez said construction and trac congestion have gotten more intense as workers approach the end of the Hwy. 146 widening project through Seabrook and Kemah. Most of the work will be done by the end of the year, though crews may have to complete small items in early 2024, he said. There’s debris beneath the bridge that will eventually need to be cleared, but crews’ main task is making sure the bridges are complete and stable, Chavez said.

While a portion of Hwy. 146 widening is almost complete, two more portions are about to begin.

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GALVESTON BAY

518

146

OPTION 1

518

DICKINSON BAYOU

OPTION 2

SOURCES: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, CITY OF SEABROOKCOMMUNITY IMPACT Timeline: August 2023-October 2026 Cost: $198 million Funding source: TxDOT Timeline: early 2019-late 2023 Cost: $201.8 million Funding source: TxDOT ONGOING HWY. 146 WIDENING HWY. 146 WIDENING, FM 518 TO DICKINSON BAYOU Timeline: projected to begin this year Cost: TBD Funding source: Texas Department of Transportation HWY. 146 WIDENING, RED BLUFF ROAD TO SPENCER HIGHWAY

ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF JULY 3. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT BAYNEWSCOMMUNITYIMPACT.COM. feet of two-lane roadway that will con- nect Hobbs Road to the I-45 frontage road to alleviate trac to the FM 518 and Hobbs Road intersection. The road will be named after Alexander Wineld, who is one of the rst African Ameri- cans to settle in League City. Timeline: construction expected to start in scal year 2023-24 Cost: $2.3 million Funding source: city of League City Wineld Road construction Workers will construct about 1,000

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BAY AREA EDITION • AUGUST 2023