The $1.3 billion project to widen Hwy. 290 from Loop 610 to the Harris County line is picking up steam in Cy-Fair. Major road construction is expected in Cypress over the second half of 2016, focused largely on projects between Beltway 8 and Mueschke Road. The entire project is expected to be finished by the end of 2017.

As construction ramps up on Cy-Fair segments, Texas Department of Transportation officials said they have been making efforts to promote safety and prevent accidents, including hosting daily safety meetings for workers and making sure drivers are aware of lane changes and ramp closures.

“Safety is a priority at TxDOT—safety of our crews and safety of the traveling public,” said Karen Othon, TxDOT public information officer with the Hwy. 290 project.

Data from Texas Peace Officer’s crash report forms show an uptick in accidents on Hwy. 290 between Beltway 8 and the Harris County line starting around mid-2014. Accidents, which are more common in winter months, hit a high point in January 2016 with a total of 142 occurring that month.

However, Keith Vrana, chairman of the Mobility Committee with the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce, said he thinks once construction is completed, overall safety standards should improve.

“I am confident that our commute is going to be exponentially improved, especially from a safety standpoint,” he said.

Project update

Funded by TxDOT, the overall widening project involves building one additional general purpose lane in each direction as well as one single-barrier separated high occupancy vehicle lane in each direction. When complete, there will be five mainlanes in each direction from Loop 610 to Hwy. 6, four mainlanes from Hwy. 6 to the Grand Parkway and three mainlanes from the Grand Parkway to the Harris County line.[polldaddy poll=9446771]

With 250,000 vehicles traveling on the highway every day, officials said the project is needed to alleviate congestion.

Major progress is being made on the four Hwy. 290 projects—D, E, F and G—running from W. Little York to Mueschke roads. Crews are working on westbound mainlane widening between Barker Cypress and Mueschke roads, Othon said. Crews are also working on paving for the eastbound entrance ramp from Spring Cypress Road, which is set to reopen by the end of June.

The construction of collector-distributor lanes at entrances and exits around FM 529 and Senate Avenue will be completed this summer. Eastbound lanes are set to open late June and westbound lanes could open by early July, Othon said.

The purpose of the collector-distributor lanes is to give drivers more time to merge by providing additional lanes  that run parallel to the Hwy. 290 mainlanes, Othon said. She highlighted this element as one that help reduce congestion and prevent accidents.

Othon said drivers should expect weekend mainlane closures throughout this summer along project G, from W. Little York Road to FM 529.

“There will be multiple traffic switches coming up as the contractor works to construct the mainlanes,” she said.

Final pieces

Work is also progressing on the last four Hwy. 290 projects from Mueschke Road to the Harris County line.Crews are working on widening mainlanes in both directions, Othon said.

“The eastbound frontage road continues to be closed for construction between Bauer and Mason [roads], including the new exit ramp from the eastbound mainlanes to Mason [Road],” she said.

The back end of Hwy. 290 contains the projects where accidents are statistically least likely to occur. However, population projections from the Houston-Galveston Area Council show this is also the area where growth will be most pronounced over the remainder of the project.

Population along projects spanning from Mason Road to the Harris County line is predicted to increase 412 percent between 2010 and 2040 from 16,000 to 68,000 people, TxDOT officials said. Residential projects coming to the area include the 600-acre Dellrose community and future expansions within Bridgeland.

Safety initiatives

Speeding and texting while driving come in at the top of the list of things for drivers to avoid doing to improve safety, said Jeff Kaufman, chair of the H-GAC Traffic Safety Committee.

“The key thing about projects where you’re dealing with drastically modified lanes is that there is physically no room for error,” he said.

Kaufman leads H-GAC’s Regional Safety Council, which is working to develop a safety plan and identify low-cost initiatives that can be implemented within the Greater Houston area. The council also works on community projects ranging from promoting safe driving to high school students to providing bicycle helmets to economically disadvantaged children.

Accidents have been steadily rising in the Greater Houston area, which Kaufman attributes to more drivers on the road. Preventing accidents in work zones such as Hwy. 290 is largely reliant on drivers using common sense, he said.

“When you have narrower lanes and shoulders, you need to be exceptionally focused,” he said.

One specific aspect of the Hwy. 290 expansion that Vrana said will improve safety is the elimination of diamond lanes.

“[The diamond lanes] allow drivers to enter and exit into main traffic, causing many safety issues and significantly impacts congestion,” he said. “The plan now calls for an HOV lane only, with barriers on either side.  This will vastly improve our commute from a safety and congestion aspect.”

Officers with the Department of Public Safety on West Road also work to mitigate accidents on Hwy. 290. DPS Lt. Craig Cummings said the one thing he would want to stress to drivers is that circumstances can change in a moment’s notice.

“If you are driving at 70 miles per hour, you are covering 100 feet per second,” he said. “Nobody expects to be in a crash when they leave the house. We want everyone to get home safe.”