Since 2023, over a dozen businesses have opened within a 1-mile radius of Hwy. 242, along with four residential developments underway in the area, according to prior reporting.
“Our entire county is growing, and that corridor along [Hwy.] 242 is no different,” Montgomery County Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray said. “It’s a no brainer. It’s just an easy place to develop. ... You’ve access to two major highways or interstates and all the great amenities right there.”
While residents said access attracted them to the area, the rapid development has brought growing pains.
“The congestion on [Hwy.] 242 was not near as bad as this. Now, I would say, it has just massively increased over the last nine months, and I really don’t know what the solution is at this time,” Evergreen resident Misty Caudillo said.
How we got here
Between 2018-2023, Montgomery County’s population grew 18%, from 554,445 to 654,722 residents, per the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Scott Harper, president of the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce, said the Hwy. 242 corridor is a hot spot given its location to The Woodlands and its direct access to I-45.
“[Hwy.] 242 has always been busy, but it’s always been two lanes, and now they’re starting the expansion of that. As that happens, the growth is following from the neighborhoods to the retail side,” Harper said. “It’ll be bumper to bumper.”
Last June, Montgomery County commissioners approved a $19.1 million agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation to build an eastbound flyover connecting I-45 North to Hwy. 242. Gray said the project, expected to finish by 2028, aims to ease local traffic congestion. Gray is also proposing to complete the David Memorial Drive extension to Hwy. 242 and widen Old Houston Road from Hwy. 242 to FM 1314 should the county’s $480 million road bond pass May 3.
For residents living off Hwy. 242 in communities like Evergreen, they said the pace of development has become overwhelming.
Matt Ramirez, in an interview with other residents who recently moved into the community, said commuting 3 miles in 30 minutes has become the new normal.
“If the traffic is getting in the way of me making ends meet, it's either I relocate or find a new job,” Evergreen resident Richard Vyhane said. “It's likely I may have to relocate.”
Keith Luechtefeld, Houston division president for Shea Homes and developer of Evergreen, said the 740-acre development, currently home to about 200 houses, plans to accommodate 2,000 houses and is expected to be completed within the next six to eight years.
“We wish they would address them earlier, rather than later, but we believe that the county and the state are both working to help improve traffic and reduce congestion in the area,” Luechtefeld said.
