BY TOMER RONEN
The funding
Why it matters
Sections of I-10 and Grand Parkway both ranked among the 100 most congested roads statewide in 2024, with traffic delays increasing from the year before, according to a Texas A&M Transportation Institute study. From Grand Parkway to North Eldridge Parkway, I-10 saw a total annual delay of 3.63 million hours, an annual cost of $99.1 million in time and gas, according to the TTI study. Meanwhile Grand Parkway saw a total annual delay of 1.48 million hours between South Fry Road and Morton Ranch Road, an annual cost of $37.55 million. The two ranked the 28th and 61st most congested roads statewide in the study, respectively. However, Fulshear City Engineer Cliff Brouhard said even with congestion and construction in the area, he believes he’s already seen improvements.
Of the projects, the city of Katy is funding $29.99 million in internal roads improvements, while the city of Fulshear's Economic Development Corporations is funding the $3.75 million Harris Street project as well as various other downtown road upgrades. Fort Bend County is funding the $8.4 million Greenbusch project and is partnering with Katy and Fulshear to help fund the Pin Oak Road widening and Huggins Drive extension. Meanwhile, larger scale projects such as the I-10 widening and the $108.36 million FM 1463 widening projects were funded by TxDOT to help with overall traffic flow in and out of the area. Additionally, the $157 million Grand Parkway widening and $72 million Westpark Tollway exten- sion are funded by toll revenue from area users. However, the Katy Ford Bend Road widening is still in the design phase so funding has not been determined.
Peak delay times on I-10
Average peak delay time (in minutes) from Beltway 8-West to Pin Oaks on I-10
I-10 East
I-10 West
15
10
5
0
SOURCE: HOUSTON TRANSTAR/COMMUNITY IMPACT
“Things like Texas Heritage Parkway, I think, has helped [congestion] significantly,” Brouhard said.
Going forward
McKinnon roads, Goodlander said. Texas Heritage Parkway is also expected to extend further south toward the Brazos River improving north-south mobility. Meanwhile, drivers can expect Westpark Tollway to continue extending westward toward Simonton, FBCTRA officials said.
In addition to scheduled projects, Hebert said Katy officials are also looking to make improvements on other roads, including 10th Street, Avenue C, Franz Road and Second Boulevard. Fulshear officials are also looking at improving east-west mobility with construction on Fulshear Bend and
"There’s a lot of traffic out there today, and it’s only going to get worse as more and more homes are built out to the west of Fulshear." DAVID GORNET, FORT BEND COUNTY TOLL ROAD AUTHORITY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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