TRANSPORTATION
Top transportation stories to watch in 2023
Project to extend Woodtrace Boulevard to FM 2978 begins BY LIZZY SPANGLER Montgomery County has begun design work and con- struction on a project to extend Woodtrace Boulevard to FM 2978, Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley said in a Jan. 9 interview. The project, which is a new four-lane road spanning from Hwy. 249 to FM 2978, will likely be completed in three sections, Riley said. “The rst will be [from] FM 2978 to Dobbin-Hu smith [Road],” he said. “The second section will be from Dob- bin-Hu smith through Shea Homes’ development [just south of Dobbin-Hu smith]. … And then it’ll go from Shea Homes over to Hwy. 249.” Both Riley and Rob Eissler—president of the Westwood Magnolia Parkway Improvement District, which is donating around $8 million toward the rst phase of the project—said they believe the rst segment of this project will be com- pleted by the end of the year. Riley said he estimates the project could cost anywhere between $70 million-$100 million. “We don’t know the true number on that until we get all these designs and everything,” Riley said.
OTHER PROJECTS TO FOLLOW IN 2023
DOBBIN HUFFSMITH RD.
2978
SHEA HOMES DEVELOPMENT
MAGNOLIA RELIEF ROUTE
249
1774
1774
2978
WOODTRACE BLVD.
1488
249
N
N
TxDOT purchasing right of way for Magnolia Relief Route project The Texas Department of Transportation is in the process of purchasing right of way for the Magnolia Relief Route project, which will span around the city of Magnolia from Hwy. 249 to FM 1488, Charlie Riley, Montgomery County Precinct 2 commissioner, said in a Jan. 9 interview. “The need for this project is to keep as many people as possible out of that intersection at FM 1488 and FM 1774,” Riley said. The plan is to begin engineering and design work in the rst quarter of 2023, Riley said, but no gure has been determined yet for the project’s cost. He said he hopes TxDOT will have purchased all the right of way needed by the third quarter of 2023.
Riley said the Woodtrace Boulevard extension is needed because there is so much tra c heading east and west from Hwy. 249 to FM 2978. “This is the simplest, easiest, most safe way to get from Hwy. 249 to FM 2978,” Riley said.
"THIS IS THE SIMPLEST, EASIEST, MOST SAFE WAY TO GET FROM HWY. 249 TO FM 2978."
CHARLIE RILEY, MONTGOMERY COUNTY PRECINCT 2 COMMISSIONER
However, Riley stressed the project is subject to change. “There’s so many moving parts, so many variables to what we’re doing right now,” Riley said. “This thing is changing every day.”
Grand Parkway expansion to begin in fall 2023 and the new lanes—one in each BY HANNAH BROL
Segment B
KUYKENDAHL RD.
45
1774
1488
Segment A
45
Construction on a project to expand the F-2 segment of the Grand Parkway is expected to begin this fall, according to o cials with the Texas Department of Transportation. As previously reported by Community Impact , the project will expand the Grand Parkway from four to six lanes between Hwy. 249 in Tomball and Holzwarth Road in Spring. According to TxDOT o cials, the tollway’s four existing lanes will be kept in operation during the project,
direction—will be expanded inward, reducing the impact construction will have on the surrounding area. The two-part project will be completed in two segments. Segment A, which runs from Hwy. 249 to Kuykendahl Road, is expected to begin advertising for bids in August and will take 42 months to complete at a cost of $63 million. Segment B, which runs from Kuykendahl Road to Holzwarth Road, will advertise for bids in October 2024 and take 36 months to complete
WALLER COUNTY LINE
249
HOLZWARTH RD.
249
N
99 TOLL
N
FM 1488 projects continue A $30.33 million project by the Texas Department of Transportation to widen FM 1488 from the Waller County line to FM 1774 continues through the third quarter. A $48.28 million widening from FM 1774 to FM 149 will continue into 2025. Construction of a raised median from Mostyn Drive to I-45 may kick o in the rst quarter.
at a cost of $38 million. According to TxDOT o cials, the expansion is needed for the tollway to maintain a speci c level of service as data shows average annual daily tra c increased by more than 50% from F-2’s opening in 2016 to 2019—increasing from 43,358 to 65,779 in that timespan.
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TOMBALL MAGNOLIA EDITION • JANUARY 2023
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