The Houston-Galveston Area Council revealed its initial draft of the South Montgomery County Mobility Study to the public and local elected officials at a pair of September meetings.

The study, which was initiated in October 2013, identified $1.6 billion worth of mobility improvements needed in south Montgomery County over the next 20 years.

The study cited dozens of projects designed to ease congestion and handle the influx of residents moving into the south county area now and over the next two decades. The recommended projects include needed over and underpasses, lane widenings, new roadways, signal improvements and highway interchanges.

"The goal here was for us to put pencil to paper to produce products that we can deliver in a short amount of time," Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack said. "Right now, the goal is to make as many improvements as we can with the resources we have."

The study focus area included The Woodlands, Oak Ridge North, Shenandoah, east of I-45 along the Rayford Road corridor, and north to FM 1488.

The study was compiled by a focus group that included representatives from—among others—H-GAC, Montgomery County, The Woodlands Township, The Woodlands Road Utility District No. 1 and the cities of Shenandoah and Oak Ridge North.

Projects were divided into long-term and short-term needs, with short-term projects being planned for the next five years. Long-term needs were six to 20 years out.

The cost estimates were separated between short-term and long-term projects. Key corridors identified by H-GAC will cost $195 million, while additional corridors under the short-term plan will cost $145.3 million. Project studies are projected at $23.8 million, and long-term project estimates are $1.23 billion.

Carlene Mullins, transportation planner for H-GAC, identified six areas that need attention now and in the next five years. Among those are the Rayford Road/Sawdust Road area, I-45 and Woodlands Parkway/Robinson Road, Lake Woodlands Drive at Grogan's Mill Road, Gosling Road and Research Forest Drive.

Among the long-term solutions H-GAC identified in the study are establishing a grid network of roads east of I-45 with major north/south corridors, improving Grogan's Mill Road between Woodlands Parkway and Sawdust Road, and improving the overpass interchange at I-45 and FM 1488.

Some elected and appointed officials, including township director Gordy Bunch and Montgomery County Tax Assessor/Collector J.R. Moore, expressed concern that the project did not include proposals for easing congestion along I-45.

H-GAC transportation program manager David Wurdlow said many of the proposals in the plan are designed to keep drivers from needing to travel along I-45.

"We're trying to get traffic off of I-45," he said. "The goal here is to have an alternate route along I-45."

Wurdlow said H-GAC examined the possibility of including 10 miles of six elevated lanes along I-45. He said the cost would be about $750 million.

"The unfortunate reality is the I-45 project is going to take a considerable amount of time," he said. "We decided early on that we would focus our efforts on what local governments can do relatively quickly."

Meanwhile, the Texas Department of Transportation is planning to add HOV lanes along I-45 by next spring in hopes of easing congestion.

"When we're all said and done with this, we're still two lanes short on I-45," township director Mike Bass said. "So we haven't solved the problem as far as congestion [is concerned]."

Two of the projects identified on the study, grade separations—or under or overpasses—at Research Forest Drive and Grogan's Mill Road, and at Lake Woodlands Drive and Grogan's Mill Road, drew opposition.

Shenandoah Mayor Gary Watts said his city would not support an overpass at Research Forest Drive and Grogan's Mill Road, and township director Ed Robb voiced his displeasure about the proposed overpass at Lake Woodlands Drive and Grogan's Mill Road. Robb is the senior pastor at The Woodlands United Methodist Church, which is located at Lake Woodlands Drive.

"I am not supportive of an overpass, but I could support an underpass," Robb said. "It's never easy to build roads—people want mobility but they don't want any inconvenience in their backyard. But one can't ignore impact. So, how do you make these coexist?"

In addition to vehicle lane improvements, H-GAC's study also included recommendations for a $27 million, 85-mile bicycle and pedestrian network. The recommendations included installing bike lanes along available utility easements and installing bike lanes away from roadways separated by easements.

Noack said the next step is to decide which projects are a priority, planning those projects and determining funding.