Montgomery County Precinct 2 is constructing a railroad overpass that will provide drivers on Keenan Cut Off Road a direct route to FM 2854, Commissioner Charlie Riley said. The project is slated to be complete by the end of the year but may carry over into early 2021, he said.

In addition to allowing residents safer access across the railroad tracks, the overpass will also give school buses a safer path to get to Keenan Elementary and Oak Hills Junior High, two schools recently built on Keenan Cut Off Road, Riley said.

"One of the biggest and one of the best projects that we've done in a long time is the Keenan Cut Off overpass at [FM] 2854 and the railroad tracks," he said. "Those school buses—the way [the roads] are right now—they have to cross that track ... to get to the elementary and the junior high. ... There's no way around it."

Riley said the project is funded by the 2015 Montgomery County road bond. Precinct 2 information shows the project was awarded in November 2019 for $5.85 million.

"One of the reasons I felt so strongly about this overpass: Not only has it been needed for a while, but with the two schools on Keenan Cut Off and the number of buses that have to come in and out and all of them that have to cross that railroad track, that overpass is one of the most needed projects that I've ever worked on in Precinct 2 simply because of the safety for the kids and the school buses and everybody concerned," Riley said.