The Houston-Galveston Area Council's Transportation Improvement Program, which was approved April 27, includes three projects related to the extension of Hwy. 249.

The main project involves the completion of Hwy. 249 as a six-lane tollway from Spring Cypress to FM 1774. The TIP lists the addition of southbound and westbound direct connectors from Hwy. 249 to Beltway 8, and the addition of four direct connectors from Hwy. 249 to segment F-1 of the Grand Parkway.

"When a project is on the TIP, it's at the point where something is going to get done," said John Fishero, interim board chairman for the 249 Partnership—a Hwy. 249 advocacy group representing Tomball, Magnolia and Navasota.

The Hwy. 249 tollway will provide sorely needed traffic relief and easier access to Houston for parts of Harris and Montgomery County, Fishero said.

H-GAC, which serves as a regional planning organization in 13 counties in the Greater Houston Area, updates its TIP every two years. Once approved, H-GAC coordinates with the Texas Department of Transportation and other entities to help get things off the ground. Having their support is crucial, according to Fishero.

"If you're not on [the TIP], your chances of getting anything done aren't going to be great, especially if it's a substantial project," he said.

Getting on the TIP involves submitting a proposal to H-GAC's Transportation Policy Council and demonstrating why its necessary with support from the general public.

"So far we've had a lot more comments in favor of the 249 project than against it," Fishero said.

The next step involves determining who will actually fund and complete the project, Fishero said. The Montgomery County and Harris County toll road authorities are conducting revenue studies—set to be completed in June—to look at co-funding the project.

"Once we finalize the revenue studies, we'll make a final determination about how we're going to do it and who's going to do it," Fishero said. "We're expecting it to eventually be self-funding because of the tolls, but we're still going to need to put some money up first."

The Hwy. 249 extension is broken up into four segments that H-GAC estimates will cost around $348 million combined. The direct connectors to the Grand Parkway and Beltway 8 will cost an additional $70 million and $20 million respectively.