Photo by John RiggThe open house session at TxDOT's pubic meeting displays each segment of Hwy. 290 slated for expansion.
The Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration are in the process of re-evaluating the final environmental impact statement for the Hwy. 290 expansion project. The re-design began when the parameters of the project were changed to include three reversible managed lanes down the center of the corridor from Loop 610 to Hwy. 6 and two managed lanes from Hwy. 6 to the Grand Parkway.
At a public meeting held Dec. 11, TxDOT revealed the interim plans to the public, which include additional general purpose lanes in each direction from Loop 610 to the Grand Parkway, two to three managed lanes down the center and an asphalt overlay on Hempstead Road from W. 18th Street to Brittmoore Road. The proposed Hempstead Tollway is expected to be constructed by 2035, at which time the managed lanes on Hwy. 290 are slated to become general purpose lanes.
The primary focus of the meetings are to consider the validity of the initial final environmental impact statement and record of decision approved by the Federal Highway Administration in August 2010 in regard to the changes made. Major changes include a re-design on the main lanes and the addition of managed lanes for high occupancy vehicles and toll traffic down the middle of Hwy. 290.
"A re-evaluation is necessary when changes to an approved project occur, as in this case, and TxDOT is currently in the process of preparing the re-evaluation of the federal environmental impact statement," said Karen Othon, TxDOT public information officer. "It will be available in early 2013."
