Delays largely caused by flooding and utility relocations have pushed the completion of the Hwy. 290 expansion project into 2018. However, officials with the Texas Department of Transportation said several key pieces are still on track to be completed this year.
The expansion entails widening 38 miles of the highway between Loop 610 and the Harris County line to varying widths of three to six lanes with one reversible managed lane in the center for EZ Tag drivers and vehicles with more than one occupant.
Completion was originally set for the end of 2017, but TxDOT officials announced at the end of last year that some projects would be under construction through a portion of 2018. Delayed projects include an overpass over Hwy. 290 connecting Hwy. 6 to FM 1960.
Work on mainlanes has been progressing smoothly for the most part, officials said.
“We're at the point now where a lot of the work on the mainlanes is visibly taking place, and you can see the progress that is being made,” said Karen Othon, TxDOT spokesperson for the Hwy. 290 project. “We have all the right of way for the utility relocations, so that [work] is contingent on how fast the utility companies can move.”
Construction began on the Hwy. 290 expansion in June 2011. The expansion is divided into 13 separate projects, and work is underway on all 13 projects concurrently. TxDOT is covering the majority of the $1.27 billion price tag, with Harris County contributing $200 million to the project.
The population along the Hwy. 290 corridor between Loop 610 and FM 2920 is expected to grow from 698,000 in 2010 to 1.1 million in 2040, TxDOT officials said. As of 2014, about 240,000 vehicles used the highway every day.
The need for the widening cannot be understated, said Keith Vrana, chairman of the transportation committee of the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce.
“When complete, I think we will see a vast improvement in our daily commutes,” Vrana said. “It’s my opinion that the Cypress area will benefit first from having our segments completed and opened.”
Plans for 2017
Although right of way acquisition has delayed work on Hwy. 290 frontage roads, significant progress is planned for this summer, said Shane Cossey, a TxDOT engineer overseeing the project.
In Cypress, work on Project D—which involves widening the highway between Mueschke and Telge roads from three to four lanes—is seeing progress. As crews finish work on westbound frontage roads between Skinner and Spring Cypress roads, Cossey said he hopes to open a new entrance ramp just east of Spring Cypress Road this summer.
Frontage road work between Mason and Mueschke roads was also delayed due to utility conflicts in late 2016. However, the portion of the eastbound frontage road between Mason and Mueschke roads—including a new entrance ramp on the west side of Mueschke Road—reopened in early May, Cossey said.
Crews are now working to convert the old entrance ramp into a new exit ramp. The conversion is one of several similar efforts along the expansion project to improve the flow of traffic between exits and entrances, Cossey said.
“Before, the exit ramp was too close to the [Mueschke Road] intersection,” he said. “Traffic was backing up onto the exit ramp and onto the highway. Switching them allows drivers who take the exit more time to change lanes.”
Plans entail eventually opening up a new exit ramp on the east side of Mason Road that will allow drivers coming from the Grand Parkway to access Mason Road directly, Cossey said. The existing configuration forces Grand Parkway drivers to go to Cypress Rosehill Road and U-turn to get to Mason Road.
Another project underway involves the removal of the existing high occupancy vehicle lane and replacing it with a new lane separated by barriers that will extend from Loop 610 to Mason Road. The former diamond lane was removed through early 2017, and the new HOV lane will be installed as a reversible managed lane, Othon said.
“Some people think what is there now is what will be there when it’s finished, but the final plans call for a wider HOV lane with inside and outside shoulders,” she said.
Delayed projects
Parts of the expansion that will last into 2018 include the construction of a direct connector from I-10 to Hwy. 290 westbound and the construction of an overpass traveling over Hwy. 290 connecting Hwy. 6 to FM 1960.
Delays can largely be attributed to difficulties in obtaining right of way needed to relocate utilities, Othon said. Work on Hwy. 290 mainlanes is underway, but construction on new frontage roads is expected to begin next spring, and work on the Hwy. 6/FM 1960 overpass will follow.
“We cannot work on the frontage roads until the utility relocation takes place,” Othon said. “We have been working on the mainlanes first.”
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is also in discussions with TxDOT on potential transit-related improvements.
Original plans for Hwy. 290 entailed building three reversible managed lanes. However, plans were scaled back to a single reversible managed lane in 2014 after Harris County reduced its commitment to the project from $400 million to $200 million.
Managed lanes are open to both EZ Tag drivers and carpools at certain times of the day and can go in both directions, typically inbound in the morning and outbound in the afternoon.
The change of plans gave officials room to add more general-use lanes in certain areas. METRO has since proposed making the westbound left lane an HOV lane during morning hours and the eastbound left lane an HOV lane in the afternoon. The idea, according to METRO officials, is to help buses make faster return trips to the Cypress Park & Ride at Skinner Road.
As of press time, discussions were still taking place and no decisions had been made, Othon said.
Business owners lament situation
As work on Hwy. 290 takes longer than expected, business owners in Cy-Fair are feeling the consequences and said ongoing lane and exit closures are hurting their sales.
Frank Hernandez, store manager at Exclusive Furniture on Hwy. 290 just east of Jones Road, said he attributes a 30 percent decrease in sales to construction.
“No one can come in on weekends,” he said. “Whether people are coming from the north or south, the exits are closed, so in order to get to my store they have go three exits down.”
Carolyn Cross, store manager of the nearby Joe Myers Ford dealership, said frontage road construction has taken away parking spots, forcing them to spend money on satellite lots to park between 200-300 vehicles. In addition, sales are down 20 percent, she said.
“When we heard [construction] was going into 2018, we fainted,” Cross said. “It’s gotten so much worse.”
Cross said she has been frustrated with what she calls a lack of communication from TxDOT. She said she was originally told the new Jones Road exit would deposit drivers near Jersey Drive, allowing them to access her dealership, but when plans changed to move the exit several blocks farther down, she was not informed.
Othon said TxDOT does its best to keep business owners informed and take their concerns into account.
“The complaints we get from the businesses stem to the closures that we have,” she said. “It’s a part of reconstruction; they have to happen. We try to give everyone as much advanced notice as possible.”
