The big picture
County Judge Mark Keough said the effort began with obtaining federal funds in October 2024, followed by a formal request in December 2024. He said the project was then added to the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Unified Planning Work Program—a federally required document that outlines and budgets the region’s transportation planning work—when it was approved in April 2025. Keough said the county issued a request for proposals in September 2025 and awarded the contract to Freese and Nichols in December.
Keough said the project will kick off in January and is expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete. Once finished, he said the county plans to initiate a county thoroughfare plan update.
Keough also said the study’s cost has been reimbursed by the Houston-Galveston Area Council, state and federal partners, calling the work “a really good thing ... and it’s never been done.”
What residents can expect
Jason Smith, deputy chief of staff for Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough, said staff planned to meet with precinct teams to “get the ball rolling.” He said the goal is to deliver the study in 12 months.
Smith said the process will include two public meetings in every precinct—“a grand total of eight public meetings across the county”—with locations and times to be set with each commissioner’s office. He said the study will examine corridors countywide, with the goal of creating a plan for how the county can “program and deliver future projects” over the next decade.
Keough said the effort is also a “big deal" for the Texas Department of Transportation because it can help move planning away from handling projects “piecemeal” and toward a larger, coordinated picture.
