Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack has announced the formation of a transportation task force for South Montgomery County. The committee will hold its first meeting in September and is made up of local stakeholders.

Noack said he realized the need for the task force last year when South County communities became concerned about their participation in the planning of a possible overpass at Grogan's Mill Road and Research Forest Drive.

The task force will include representatives from The Woodlands Township, Oak Ridge North, Shenandoah, the Texas Department of Transportation and Noack's office, as well as the South County Chamber of Commerce. Noack said the group will meet monthly and its goals include promoting transportation improvements, sharing of transportation ideas, seeking public input and securing project funding.

"We'll spend $500,000 on this South Montgomery County Mobility Plan, and the focus of this task force will be to turn that plan into reality," Noack said. "The plan is part one, but then actually implementing the plan, that's what this task force is really designed to accomplish."

Noack said The Houston-Galveston Area Council and TxDOT were reviewing firms in July to perform the mobility plan. Although he could not say which firms were considered, he said the consultants included partnerships between firms to handle different portions of the study.

"H-GAC has indicated to us this is a very unique product they're going to be putting together, because it's going to look at signalization," he said. "It's looking at new roadways, existing roadways, [and] an inventory and assessment of all roadways."

The Montgomery County commissioners have also agreed to form a separate countywide plan, Noack said, which will use data from South County's plan and could be completed in as soon as two months after completion of the South County plan. Noack said the countywide plan would cost about $300,000, with H-GAC funding $200,000 and the county funding the remaining $100,000.

"That plan's a little bit different insomuch as it's really looking at just the major thoroughfares, improvements that are needed, land use today, expected land use and possible new roadways that may be needed," Noack said.