The gist
The $8.4 million Fort Bend County project comes after the original Greenbusch Road project stalled out in summer 2023, leaving most of the project incomplete, said Mark Dessens, program manager for the county with engineering firm Schaumburg & Polk Inc.
“Obviously, everybody’s anxious to get it done,” he said.
The details
The Katy-area project will reconstruct the road between Gaston Road and Westheimer Parkway and add left turn lanes at all public road intersections, Dessens said.
Other features of the project include:
- Replacing asphalt road with concrete and add curbs
- Building underground storm sewers along the roadway
- Widening the Westheimer Parkway intersection and adjust the traffic signal
- Reconstructing several hundred feet of Saddlespur Lane, which is past the Westheimer Parkway intersection
- Adding a traffic signal at the Spring Green Boulevard and Pine Mill Ranch Drive intersection
With the project, county officials aim to tackle the drainage conditions on the roadway that pose a “hazard” for drivers, Dessens said.
“It was a narrow asphalt roadway that had these deep ditches alongside it, and it was just considered a hazard,” he said.
The backstory
Construction originally began in March 2022 on the project, which is funded by the county's 2013 mobility bond, Community Impact reported. At the time, the scope included rebuilding the road and replacing the bridge over Buffalo Bayou, Dessens said.
"There was an old bridge that ... was getting in bad shape and in need of replacement," he said.
However, contractor RAC Industries terminated the contract in May 2023 after building the bridge, according to information from Precinct 1’s September mobility meeting.
By September 2023, county officials reopened the bridge to drivers but had to begin the process of modifying the scope and rebidding the project, Dessens said.
Construction on Greenbusch Road began again Feb. 14 and is set to finish in June 2026. Dessens said drivers and businesses along the roadway can expect a phased construction process.
New contractor Sequeira Civil Construction has started on the portion of Greenbusch Road between Gaston Road and the bridge, reducing traffic to one lane. By early next year, work is expected to move between the bridge and Westheimer Parkway, reducing the area to one lane and reopening the previous section to two lanes, Dessens said.
“It was a frustration when that first contract fell apart,” Dessens said. “I know that the commissioner [Vincent Morales] and everyone, they’re just excited to get it going again. Let’s get this thing done, get it back to normal and everyone happy.”
