The project aims to improve mobility and drainage while also prioritizing tree preservation and promoting a pedestrian-friendly environment, according to project details from the Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, which will oversee and fund a portion of the project. However, Montrose residents are frustrated by the lack of bike lanes and multimodal transportation efforts.
Plans are in the preliminary design and engineering phase, with construction to begin in 2026.
About the project
The full concrete roadway reconstruction includes making several enhancements to the roughly 1.6-mile stretch of road.
Muhammad Ali, project engineer from Gauge and HR Green Engineering, said the project’s main goal is to improve the standards of the street to meet today’s safety regulations while also investing in better drainage and stormwater capacity.
Drainage improvements include installing larger stormwater boxes under the roadway and upgrading inlets, which could help alleviate street ponding, Ali said. According to a June 2024 report by the Houston Public Works Department, West Alabama Street is prone to flooding during periods of heavy rainfall.
The project also aims to improve mobility and safety for pedestrians, which Ali said includes creating new city-compliant 6-foot sidewalks with an estimated 4-foot buffer between the sidewalk and roadway, as well as new traffic signals and high-visibility crosswalks.
However, the design does not include protected bike lanes and will maintain its current 12-foot car lanes and a general two-way left-turn lane.
Matt Brollier, chair of the Montrose TIRZ, said West Alabama Street was originally part of Houston’s Capital Improvement Plan around 2016 but was taken over by the TIRZ roughly three years ago due to limited city funds.
The original design included a dedicated on-street bike lane, but the former design would have eliminated the center lane to allow for the bikeway. In early 2024, Houston Mayor John Whitmire released his new guiding mobility principles, which included requiring all road projects to maintain the number and width of existing car lanes, effectively reversing the previous design on West Alabama Street.
Public input
Despite the city’s directive, Montrose residents expressed their displeasure at several board meetings and hosted a protest at the project’s open house in June about the changes.
Alondra Torres, co-founder of Friends of the Boulevard, an organization that advocates for inclusive and accessible designs in Montrose, said the community preferred the original plan, which included additional safety measures and focused on multimodal transportation.
“What people want right now is for the priority to be safety and the inclusion of pedestrians in the plan,” she said. “Whitmire’s plan is car-centric, but people in Montrose want to walk, bike—that’s how we get around.”
In early 2024, when Whitmire first announced his new mobility guidelines, Houston Planning Director Marlene Gafrick said several factors led to redesigning projects that reduced car lanes, including the removal of street parking for residents and businesses, the impact on service delivery for emergency responders and the removal of businesses’ access.
"I would not describe this as a fixation on vehicle priority," Gafrick said. "We are trying to carefully balance current and future mobility needs."
Ali said that while bike lanes cannot be added to West Alabama Street, the TIRZ has applied for a $500,000 grant from the Texas Department of Transportation to place bike lanes on corridors with less vehicle use. A map wasn’t available as of press time, but Brollier said the concept aims to link destinations throughout Montrose with concepts such as shared-use paths.
More details
Montrose residents also raised frustrations about not burying overhead power lines. TIRZ attorney Alia Vinson said the TIRZ does not have the authority to pay for the cost of burying power lines, as it can only implement projects authorized by the city. Vinson said some areas have utilized management districts for burial, but Montrose lacks an active management district.
However, during an Aug. 18 board meeting, officials said they will look into options such as creating a utility district or partnering with CenterPoint Energy to bury power lines.
As of mid-August, the project is in the preliminary design phase, with potential construction set to start in late 2026.
Brollier said the board is already in discussion with project engineers to minimize any disruptions to local businesses during the construction period, which is anticipated to take approximately two years to complete.
“We want to do everything that we can to avoid impacts to local businesses or just the way certain properties operate, but there is always that concern,” he said.
Ali said engineers are planning to maintain two lanes of traffic to minimize the disruption of travel and limit any detours. He said his strategy also includes working with property owners to close only one driveway at a time, working at night and using fast-drying concrete.
What you need to know
Official design is set to begin by the fourth quarter of this year, Ali said, with the preliminary engineering report sent to Houston around mid-August. TIRZ officials said another community meeting is expected to occur after the draft is completed, with construction set to begin shortly after Montrose Boulevard improvements are finished in spring 2026.
The $28.5 million project is a combination of TIRZ funding and federal grant money from the office of U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston.
Improvements to West Alabama Street will also stretch beyond the Montrose TIRZ boundaries to encompass the entire street from Buffalo Speedway to Hwy. 69, with adjoining segments split between the Upper Kirby and Midtown TIRZ districts.
Lee Cisneros, project director for the Upper Kirby portion, said construction on Phase I from Buffalo Speedway to Kirby Drive will start construction at the end of 2026. Phase II, from Kirby Drive to Shepherd Drive, will start construction in mid-2026.
Midtown officials did not respond to a request for details by press time, however, the project will encompass the stretch Spur 527 and Highway 69.
