Harris County Commissioners Court approved the bidding process to begin March 13 that will turn Hwy. 249 into a six-lane toll road between Spring Cypress and FM 1774 in Precinct 4 and Montgomery County.

The estimated cost of the initially stalled-project is between $250 million and $300 million.

Thanks to state legislation passed in 2011, a partnership was formed between Harris and Montgomery counties and a coalition was created that paved way for the project to move forward.

With the approval to start taking bids, negotiations of an engineering services agreement with Brinkley & Barfield, Inc for program management services to create tolled main lanes will begin.

"This is an indicator that we are on track and to a certain extent we are moving further a little sooner than others anticipated," said Jack Cagle, Harris County Precinct 4 commissioner. "After we get a contract with our engineer, they are going to make their recommendations and we will be one step closer to beginning the process."

In January, the Montgomery County Toll Road Authority unanimously entered into negotiations with Harris County and the Texas Department of Transportation for the development of the project.

"Although many of the residents in the Tomball area are ready for us to bypass all of the steps you have to take and put the concrete on the ground tomorrow, it is a process and (bidding) is the first step to get us to a place where we can put wheels on the ground and get traffic flowing at a better rate," Cagle said.