The city of Shenandoah is considering extending David Memorial Drive to Hwy. 242. City Administrator Greg Smith said the proposed extension could alleviate traffic congestion on I-45 and the feeder road.

"[The extension] will allow individuals to come into Shenandoah off of Hwy. 242 without having to get on I-45," he said.

Smith said the cost of the extension, which would be paid for by the city, has yet to be determined because the route has not been established. He said the city may know more about a potential route and cost of the project early next year.

"The road has been on the city of Shenandoah's plan for many years," Smith said. "This is still very preliminary."

The city is working on purchasing land in which to build the extension.

Smith said the city has already purchased land for the extension from two developers. However, some of the extension's potential right of way lies outside of the city's limits and into the city of Conroe's and Montgomery County's jurisdiction.

"That's why the timeline is a little bit of a moving target right now because we have not made contact with all of the property owners," Smith said. "We've got the south property owners taken care of and north [owners as well]. So the in-between areas, we're working on cooperation with the property owners."

One of the jurisdictions—the city of Shenandoah, city of Conroe or Montgomery—rather than all three, would most likely lead the development effort, Smith said. All three entities would provide input in the design of the road as to whether it will be a four-lane median boulevard or a two-lane roadway that can be expanded, he said.

"All three of us are going to have a vested interest in how the road is built, the dynamics of the design of the road," Smith said.

Other possible hindrances to the road extension could come from reluctant property owners or wetland issues.

"If a private property owner did not want to fund their portion of the road or did not want to donate for providing the right of way, then that would be an obstacle we would have to overcome," he said. "There are some wetland issues in that area, but there have been some discussions on solutions for the wetlands issue to be resolved."