Construction continues on expanding the lanes on FM 1093 and the Westpark Tollway, but residents may not see new toll booths for a while, officials with Fort Bend County and the Texas Department of Transportation said.
The entire project—from the Grand Parkway to James Lane—is expected to allow for additional toll road lanes extending west to Fulshear, James Thompson of the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority said. However, there are no definite plans for the toll road extension until a study is conducted, Thompson said.
A complete traffic and revenue study for future toll lanes is budgeted for this fiscal year, FBCTRA legal counsel Richard Muller said. Future extension of the toll road lanes will be based on need and demand and financial feasibility determined by the study.
Muller explained there will be no additional toll plazas constructed on FM 1093 until the FBCTRA constructs the main toll lanes. Thompson added the time of construction will also be dictated by traffic on the road.
When traffic warrants, the main toll lanes of FM 1093 will be constructed over FM 1463 and Cross Creek Ranch, terminating just east of Cross Creek Ranch, Thompson said.
Overview of Phases
Phase 1, which was completed in November 2017 for a cost of $64 million, extended the Westpark Tollway’s toll booth lanes from the Grand Parkway to just west of Spring Green Boulevard, Former Fort Bend County Engineer Richard Stolleis said.
Construction on Phase 2A finished in early April, Fort Bend County engineer Stacy Slawinski said. This phase—from FM 1463 to the future Texas Heritage Parkway—expanded FM 1093 from a two-lane road to a four-lane road with a median for a cost of $22 million.
Meanwhile, construction on Phase 2B of the FM 1093 expansion project began in December and is on schedule to complete in 2020, TxDOT Project Manager Kurt Lehmann said. The cost of this phase is about $19.8 million.
When Phase 2B is complete in 2020, FM 1093 will expand from a two-lane road to a four-lane road with a median from the future Texas Heritage Parkway to James Lane in Fulshear.
Construction will also include a full complement of utility, environmental and drainage upgrades to align with the new roadway as well as new signalized intersections at FM 359, the future Texas Heritage Parkway and Katy Fulshear Road, Lehmann said.