The Texas Department of Transportation is widening almost 7 miles of the two-lane road to up to six lanes in some areas between I-10 and FM 1093, TxDOT Public Information Officer Danny Perez said. Work began in February 2022 and is set to finish in the second quarter of 2027; substantial completion is estimated for the fourth quarter of 2026.
With two years left, some area business owners told Community Impact they’re worried about reduced visibility and access to businesses. TxDOT has also received complaints about slow construction, delays and traffic.
TxDOT officials said the project did face right-of-way and utility delays, but both issues have been resolved. Contractors are moving along in phases and making progress, Perez said.
“It’s a major project, and so we do understand the concerns of the public. But keeping the project moving is really important, and we’re going to get to a good place,” Perez said.
TxDOT officials claim the project was always planned to last five years, but inconsistent completion dates published on TxDOT’s Project Tracker website and in public forums may have raised the public’s concerns, Perez said.
Community Impact was unable to verify the project’s initial timeline, as TxDOT officials didn’t provide requested documentation by press time.
Despite not funding the project, Fulshear partnered with TxDOT to launch a dedicated webpage in late April to provide project updates, Fulshear Communications Coordinator Mariah Gallegos said.
“When you have a corridor like FM 1463 that is so impactful to our residents, it’s a part of our job to try to find answers for them,” she said.
The details
Perez said features of the FM 1463 project include:
- Widening the road from two to six lanes between I-10 and Spring Green Boulevard
- Widening the road to four lanes from Spring Green Boulevard to FM 1093
- Adding a raised median
- Constructing sidewalks north and southbound along the project length
Owner David Guo opened Mu Lan JoJo’s China Bistro in January after almost two decades operating the family-owned eatery in East Texas and Louisiana. It’s been a slow start, he said, which he attributes to patrons avoiding FM 1463.
To drum up business, Guo is pushing delivery and distributing his menu through post office mailings to local residents. Guo said he hopes the project’s completion will improve business by increasing traffic and visibility.
“[The neighborhood said they’re] going to keep supporting us through work on 1463," Guo said. "They really do understand the traffic and the construction really hurt my business.”
Cheba Hut Manager Chris Bierly said his team has also brainstormed ideas to improve visibility for the franchise location, which opened in November 2023 on FM 1463. Options have either ended up too pricey—an inflatable mascot on the sandwich shop’s roof—or violate city regulations, such as promotional flags along the roadway.
Perez said business owners can email TxDOT at [email protected] with any concerns.
“There may not be a whole lot we can do, but still bring it to our attention. Then we can look at it together and see if there’s something we can address,” Perez said.
Widening FM 1463, once a rural roadway, was proposed to meet the needs of the area’s growing population and provide access to the Katy area’s major corridors, Perez said.
Average daily vehicle traffic rose up to 128% along the road between 2013-23, according to TxDOT data. This peak was recorded near the FM 1463 and FM 1093 intersection, where the county’s nearly $72 million extension of the Westpark Tollway is also ongoing through fall 2026.
“Expanding the FM 1463 road is going to be a tremendous step in the right direction, if you will, for our residents and the surrounding areas who utilize FM 1463 to get from one side to the other,” Gallegos said.
What else?
Additionally, real estate developer Hines announced plans in January to build a 2,951-acre community west of FM 1463 and south of FM 1093. The community will offer more than 7,000 single-family homes, with the first homes being completed in 2027.
Many Hines residents will likely use the corridor, bringing more traffic to the area, Gallegos said.
“Obviously with 1463 being right along and matching up to 1093, we definitely expect it to be a trafficked area,” she said. “We do expect some of those surrounding areas—like that Hines development in the future—to utilize FM 1463.”
Looking ahead
Residents can visit Fulshear’s FM 1463 website for updates and road closures, Gallegos said. On the website, community members can expect:
- Scheduled road closures
- Alternative routes
- Project updates and history
- Safety protocols
- TxDOT resources
“We don't always have the resources to have like a dedicated website, for example, or maybe like a dedicated social media presence for one particular project,” he said.
Drivers could expect some temporary closures as the project progresses, Perez said. Traffic switches, where drivers will move to the new lanes while changes are made to the existing road, will also happen.
Meanwhile, launching the FM 1463 webpage has further highlighted Fulshear leaders’ focus on transparency and community engagement in large-scale infrastructure projects, Gallegos said.
“The goal in the future is that we will host more of these [partner] projects to provide information on what's going on—even the ones that aren't necessarily the city’s but that we know impact our residents,” Gallegos said.
