The Woodlands Township, The Woodlands Road Utility District No. 1 and Montgomery County Precinct 3 have joined forces to pay for more than $19 million in short-term road improvements to help ease traffic flow in some of the most congested areas in The Woodlands. The three groups reached the agreement in December.

The projects include lane improvements at 37 intersections, improved traffic signal synchronization at 39 intersections and two new grade separations—which can be either an overpass or underpass. The grade separations will be at Research Forest Drive and Grogan's Mill Road, and at Lake Woodlands Drive and Grogan's Mill Road.

"The public wants to know a plan is in place," Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack said. "For the short-term improvements, the best way to do that is to evaluate the intersections and make improvements with the money we had on hand and work with other government entities."

The projects will be paid for by the three entities with existing money and will require no bond election, no additional debt and no tax increase, he said. Noack said the agreement among the three entities is the first of its kind in Montgomery County.

Robert Heineman, spokesman for the RUD, said once the engineering and bid processes are finalized, construction could begin by the end of the year on the lane improvements and signal re-timing, which Noack said could be completed in 18 to 24 months.

Traffic solutions

When Noack was elected in 2012, he said one of his goals was to initiate a mobility study that identified areas of need throughout south Montgomery County. Those efforts began in earnest last year with the creation of the South Montgomery County Mobility Study, a combined effort between Precinct 3, Oak Ridge North, The Woodlands Township, the city of Shenandoah and the Houston-Galveston Area Council.

The study likely will not be completed until the fall, but the RUD, township and Precinct 3 compiled an early list of short-term projects that could be addressed soon, Noack said.

"We knew what intersections needed improvements," he said. "I talked with the RUD and the township and we worked together to create a large group of projects."

Among the 37 intersection improvements are extending turn lanes at Woodlands Parkway and Kuykendahl Road, adding turn lanes at Timberloch Place and Grogan's Mill Road, and installing traffic signals at Lake Front Circle and Lake Woodlands Drive.

Heineman said adding or extending turn lanes reduces traffic back up into main lanes, which is a problem at several intersections throughout The Woodlands.

"You can solve that problem by lengthening the turn lane or increasing the amount of green [light] time," he said. "But increasing green [light] time reduces it at another light. So you need to move traffic through the intersection in the same amount of time. You do that by lengthening the turn lane or dual left turn lanes."

Matt Beasley, project manager for Precinct 3, said extending a turn lane 200 feet could add an additional 10 cars to a turn lane.

"Most, if not all, the intersections where we think there are problems are on the list," Heineman said.

Grade separations

Heineman said the two planned grade separations at Research Forest Drive and Grogan's Mill Road, and at Lake Woodlands Drive and Grogan's Mill Road, could be constructed as either overpasses or underpasses. Heineman said underpasses typically cost more to construct and present more challenges with drainage issues. The two grade separations will cost a total of $12.3 million, nearly two-thirds the total cost of the entire program. Of that amount, the RUD will pay $11.5 million, Precinct 3 $510,000 and the township, $200,000.

An overpass at Research Forest Drive and Grogan's Mill Road was initially proposed by The Woodlands Development Company in April 2012 to be placed on the 2013–16 Transportation Improvement Plan. But the project garnered strong opposition from city of Shenandoah officials, who cited a lack of communication with the city from Woodlands officials about the project, while also saying engineers did not consider other alternatives.

"I understand they are studying what they are going to do at that intersection, that they are looking at the alternatives, which was one of the points of contention," Shenandoah City Administrator Greg Smith said. "We're excited that alternatives are being looked at. But the project is not in the city limits, and they have assured us it will not be in city limits."

Despite the initial opposition, Noack said he would support the project. Heineman said the grade separation at Research Forest Drive and Grogan's Mill Road has been on The Woodlands master plan for more than 25 years.

About 35,000 vehicles travel along Research Forest Drive through the Grogan's Mill Road intersection each day, according to an annual traffic survey conducted by the Development Company.

Alex Sutton, spokesman for the RUD and co-president of The Woodlands Development Company, said traffic along Research Forest Drive is likely to increase as development continues at Hughes Landing and Research Forest Lakeside, two large-scale mixed-use developments on Research Forest Drive.

"For the traffic through Town Center to the residential sections of Research Forest, to be able to remove that stop is really important," Sutton said.

Sutton said the overpass at Woodlands Parkway and Grogan's Mill Road was constructed for similar reasons.

"We know how well it works," he said.

Signal improvements

While the RUD and the county are paying for the lane improvements and grade separations, the township is taking on the task of funding new signal technology improvements throughout The Woodlands.

Township general manager Don Norrell said the township is spending more than $1.4 million for its part in the program to install the new signals.

"What we're finding from our residents is that mobility is one of our most important issues," Norrell said. "Our goal is to improve the overall traffic flow and the township felt we had a chance to do that with this opportunity."

The majority of the traffic signal improvements will occur along the three major east-west arteries in The Woodlands: Research Forest Drive, Lake Woodlands Drive and Woodlands Parkway.

Among the benefits of re-timing traffic signals are reduced traffic delays, fewer stops at stoplights and reduced fuel consumption, according to a report conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute. The report also stated signal re-timings are often most effective when combined with lane enhancements.

"If all these projects are built, it will satisfy the needs over the next five years in The Woodlands," Heineman said. "Traffic analysis show [the improvements] would accommodate the existing traffic in The Woodlands and future growth. So there is a solution to the mobility issues. There is now the beginning of a coordinated effort between the funding entities to solve the problems."