Harris County precincts 3 and 4 are continuing work on nearly a dozen capital improvement projects that will widen and extend major roads within the Cy-Fair area to help accommodate the rapid growth in the northwest part of the county.
On Nov. 3, Harris County voters passed four bond referendums totaling $848 million with the largest proposition providing $700 million for road projects. About $640 million of the bond money will be allocated to major road and bridge projects and expansions, county officials said.
County officials said the bond referendum will help expedite the Cy-Fair projects, which will help ease congestion as population growth continues farther north and west.
“The bond money will move up the schedule for these major projects,” said Mark Seegers, communications director for Harris County Precinct 4.
Precinct 4 projects
The largest and most expensive Precinct 4 project involves widening to the Telge Road corridor between south of Little Cypress Creek and FM 2920, Precinct 4 Special Projects Coordinator Pamela Rocchi said.
The project will widen Telge Road to four lanes from Spring Cypress Road to FM 2920, including widening the bridge over Spring Cypress Road.
The planned improvements are in the study phase and will be pursued in five segments with an estimated cost of $35 million, Rocchi said. Because the project is still in the study phase, construction is not likely to start until 2017, Seegers said.
Telge Road is one of several projects intended to address the rapid rate of development in the northern part of Precinct 4 toward Tomball, Seegers said.
“Telge Road is an important north [to] south connector in a high growth area,” Seegers said. “Two-lane roads just simply cannot handle the traffic.”
Several major residential developments—spurred by the Grand Parkway—were announced throughout 2014-15 across north the Cypress area, including the 306-acre Bauer Landing and the 670-acre Rosehill Reserve.
More imminent projects within Precinct 4 include a $2.3 million extension of Louetta Road between Blanco Trails Lane and Telge Road and an $11.8 million Grant Road widening from Old Kluge to Spring Cypress roads. Precinct 4 hopes to send out the projects for bid in the first and third quarters of 2016, respectively.
The widening of Louetta road will be critical to developing alternate routes in conjunction with other widening projects in the precinct, Rocchi said.
Projects in the study phase include a proposed $2.3 million extension of Huffmeister Road from Hwy. 6 to West Road and a $6.8 million widening of Cypress North Houston Road between Jones Road and FM 1960, Rocchi said.
Precinct 3 projects
A number of road widening projects have been completed or are under construction in Precinct 3’s portion of Cy-Fair as well, said Randy Schilhab, manager of engineering for the precinct.
A Huffmeister Road widening project between Meadowside Park and Stablefield Lane was completed in December, and the new four-lane roadway is open to traffic. Schilhab said the county continues work on the widening of Huffmeister Road from Skinner Road to Meadowside Park, which is scheduled for completion this spring.
In addition to the projects funded through the November bond referendum, local developers are jointly funding some mobility projects under an agreement approved by Commissioners Court on Sept. 15.
Under the agreement, Caldwell Companies—the developer behind Towne Lake—will fund the design and construction of the two-lane Greenhouse Road extension. Caldwell and Land Tejas—the developer of the Miramesa community—are working together on a project to extend West Road from Greenhouse Road to the existing end point at Fry Road.
“When a private landowner develops their property, they are required to dedicate the right of way, install the drainage system and construct two lanes of pavement for all major thoroughfares within their plat boundaries,” Schilhab said.
Cy-Fair ISD officials hope to see the West Road extension opened to traffic before the beginning of the 2016-17 school year. Roy Sprague, CFISD assistant superintendent of facilities and construction, said the projects will help with the traffic patterns, particularly around Cypress Ranch and Cypress Springs high schools, as well as the new Cypress Park High School, which will be opening for the 2016-17 school year.
“The connections will make it easier for parents to get around the area because they will no longer have to work around the missing portions,” Sprague said.
The projects also help CFISD transportation efficiency by reducing the amount of time it takes for its maintenance fleets to get to and from campus and for its food services to deliver products, Sprague said.
Mobility matters
Mobility is important for businesses located or looking to relocate to the Cy-Fair area, said Colleen Gilbert, co-chair of the Transportation and Governmental Affairs Committee at the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce. Congestion negatively affects commute times and makes it hard for consumers to get in and out of businesses, she said.
“Cy-Fair is growing quickly because it’s a great place to live and work,” Gilbert said. “Our local precincts have worked hard to open up alternative routes to take some of the burden off of Hwy. 290, but they can’t compete with the influx of new citizens.”
Congestion is a sign of economic activity, said Robert Benz, research engineer at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. However, it will always be a problem for drivers because government entities work with limited resources, he said,
“Widening and extending roads helps,” he said. “There is no silver bullet, though,” Benz said.
Harris County precincts 3 and 4 are continuing work on nearly a dozen capital improvement projects that will widen and extend major roads within the Cy-Fair area to help accommodate the rapid growth in the northwest part of the county.
On Nov. 3, Harris County voters passed four bond referendums totaling $848 million with the largest proposition providing $700 million for road projects. About $640 million of the bond money will be allocated to major road and bridge projects and expansions, county officials said.
County officials said the bond referendum will help expedite the Cy-Fair projects, which will help ease congestion as population growth continues farther north and west.
“The bond money will move up the schedule for these major projects,” said Mark Seegers, communications director for Harris County Precinct 4.
“When a private landowner develops their property, they are required to dedicate the right of way, install the drainage system and construct two lanes of pavement for all major thoroughfares within their plat boundaries,” Schilhab said.
Cy-Fair ISD officials hope to see the West Road extension opened to traffic before the beginning of the 2016-17 school year. Roy Sprague, CFISD assistant superintendent of facilities and construction, said the projects will help with the traffic patterns, particularly around Cypress Ranch and Cypress Springs high schools, as well as the new Cypress Park High School, which will be opening for the 2016-17 school year.
“The connections will make it easier for parents to get around the area because they will no longer have to work around the missing portions,” Sprague said.
The projects also help CFISD transportation efficiency by reducing the amount of time it takes for its maintenance fleets to get to and from campus and for its food services to deliver products, Sprague said.
