Fort Bend County officials and community members gathered April 11 for the official ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of Grand Parkway Segment D—a project several years in the works.

"It is always a great day when you can celebrate the opening of a new facility that will truly address mobility congestion in this area," said Mike Alford, Houston district engineer with the Texas Department of Transportation. "This project has been a long time coming, and we have a lot of momentum on the Grand Parkway now."

Segment D, which stretches from Hwy. 59 in Sugar Land north to I-10, consists of two main lanes in each direction, nine overpasses and seven toll plazas. Completion of the overpass at FM 1093 was the final step in the completion of Segment D. The opening of the optional tolled overpasses allows for a shorter commute for drivers. Today, motorists traveling either direction are now able to drive the corridor in about 15 minutes for $2.45, according to the Grand Parkway Association.

"The Grand Parkway has been a fixture in Fort Bend County for nearly two decades and has helped [the county] become one of the fastest-growing parts of Greater Houston," said Jeff Wiley, president and CEO of the Fort Bend Economic Development Council.

New development has been sprouting up along the Grand Parkway as the corridor continues to develop, and much more is expected, said Keri Schmidt, president of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce.

"In less than five years, this entire corridor will be completely different," she said.

Converting Segment D to a toll road cost about $147 million in construction. The road's seven overpasses allow motorists to avoid traffic lights by paying tolls.

The toll road is limited to drivers with a state-issued toll tag—such as EZ Tag or TxTag—but the frontage roads have remained accessible to all traffic at no cost.

Segment D first opened to traffic in 1994. Several other segments of the toll road have been recently completed, are under construction or are being designed. Once completed, the Grand Parkway will traverse seven counties over about 185 miles.

"Very shortly, [motorists] will be able to run all the way around Houston from Hwy. 59 north to Hwy. 59 south," Fort Bend County Judge Robert Hebert said. "That is a very necessary improvement in traffic flow. There will be no [traffic] lights all the way around."

Segment C

TxDOT has regained primacy of all segments of the Grand Parkway except for Segment D, which is still managed by Fort Bend County.

The county—in conjunction with the Fort Bend Toll Road Authority and the Grand Parkway Association—is working on designs for Segment C, which is expected to connect Hwy. 59 in Sugar Land to Hwy. 288 to the east and eventually tie in with the Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road.

A timeline and estimated cost for the design and construction of Segment C has not yet been identified, Grand Parkway Association board members said.