Katy Edition | April 2022

TRANSPORTATIONUPDATES TxDOT FM2855 project underway to improve safety of highway

COMPILED BY ASIA ARMOUR & SIERRA ROZEN

ONGOING PROJECTS

PIN OAK RD.

The Texas Department of Transportation has implemented a surfacing and roadway restoration project in Waller County along FM 2855 from FM 529 to Hwy. 90. The project began early this year in an eort to improve the safety of the roadway. Carlos Zepeda Jr., TxDOT engineer for Fort Bend and Waller counties, said in an email that the work began Jan. 24 and is projected to be completed by the end of August. It will apply to just over 6 miles of road

and is estimated to cost $5.06 million, according to the project tracker tool on TxDOT’s website. This project entails add- ing 5-foot-wide shoulders to both the north and southbound lanes of the highway and adding an overlay to thicken and smooth the roads. It will also add safety treatments to all driveways and side streets in the area, Zepeda Jr. said. This work is paid for by Texas through the Cate- gory 1 Fund, said Zepeda Jr. The fund provides

preventive maintenance and rehabilitation to the existing highway system, including minor roadway modications to improve operations and safety. According to the depart- ment’s 2022 Unied Trans- portation Plan, Category 1 dedicates a combined 84% of programmed funds to road surface treatments, road rehabilitation and restorations. The rst priority for this work is to preserve the state’s assets, and the second priority is to optimize the roads’ performance.

529

MEDICAL CENTER DR.

KATY FLEWELLEN RD.

Pin Oak Road maintenance The city of Katy will replace Pin Oak Road’s concrete pavement with new concrete, apply a joint sealant and perform storm sewer repairs on the road portion south of I-10 as well as a portion of Medical Center Drive between Pin Oak and Main Street. It also involves restriping Pin Oak from Hwy. 90 to Katy Flewellen Road. Cost: $404,270 Timeline: April 18-July 17 Funding source: city of Katy

2855

METROmoves forward on inner Katy bus project Ocials will soon begin an envi- ronmental review and preliminary engineering for the METRORapid Inner Katy Project. The Metropolitan Transit Authority Houston, maximize existing infra- structure and close the public transit gap along I-10, per agenda documents. It will also add three new transit

New I-10 transit stations

WESTHEIMER PKWY.

HEMPSTEAD RD.

ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF APRIL 11. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT KTYNEWSCOMMUNITYIMPACT.COM. Timeline: March 2022-mid-2023 Funding source: 2013 Fort Bend County mobility bond Greenbusch Road project Greenbusch Road is being converted from a two-lane asphalt road into a four-lane concrete road with a new bridge between Gaston Road and Westheimer Parkway. Fort Bend County Engineer Ike Akinwande said bridge construction will take three to four months to complete. After that work is done, the county will limit Greenbusch to one-way trac to enable the road construction to begin. Cost: $7.4 million

KATY RD.

STUDEMONT ST.

stations along I-10 at Memorial Park, Shepherd and Durham drives, and Studemont Street. It will also add two new transit stations in downtown Houston, one at Franklin and Bagby streets and one at St. Emanuel Street/ East Downtown. The majority of the alignment of the project falls within the Texas Department of Transportation’s right of way, meaning it is not expected to have a signicant eect on properties along the corridor. The preferred alignment will feature an elevated busway along I-10. Construction is expected to start a

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of Harris County board of trustees unanimously approved a locally pre- ferred alternative plan for the project at the March 24 board meeting. The project—planning for which rst began in late 2020—involves develop- ing a high-capacity bus rapid transit line from the Northwest Transit Center in uptown to downtown Houston, including the Theater District, the Central Station and the Convention District, according to previous cover- age by Community Impact Newspaper . The project will connect two of the biggest employment centers in

MEMORIAL DR.

SHEPHERD DR.

year after the design is complete and will last about three years, according to METRO’s website. The project is expected to reduce vehicle miles traveled by 80,000, lead to less carbon dioxide emissions and serve 42,000 passengers daily. “This is the denition of a good transit project. This is what makes transit meaningful for everyone that uses it,” METRO Chair Sanjay Ramabhadran said.

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KATY EDITION • APRIL 2022