What happened
Friendswood Engineering Director Jil Arias shared updates on Phase 2 of the project with city officials at an April 7 City Council meeting.
The remainder of the of the work to be done on Blackhawk Boulevard runs from Pennystone Way to FM 2351, as well as Thursa Lane to FM 528 and involve completing the west and east halves of the road, according to city documents.
The project at hand is broken up into Phase II-B and Phase II-C, both costing a total of $9.6 million, city documents show. City staff hired a contractor in 2023 for Phase II-B, who defaulted due to cash flow issues prior to finishing the work. As a result, city officials authorized an alternate contractor for stop-gap construction to finish the west side of Phase II-B, which runs from Pennystone Way and Geneva Drive, according to city documents.
Because the original contractor defaulted, the project ran behind schedule, leaving some residents in the area unable to pull into their driveways. Those driveways are now usable, Arias said.
“These are things that are going to immediately help the residents in that area to be able to get into their driveways,” Arias said.
The city has also been coordinating with the original contractor’s bonding company to finalize an agreement in the next few weeks to complete the west side of the street project, Arias said.
Looking ahead
Texas Department of Transportation permits are in process for the project’s second phase, Phase II-C. Officials said they anticipate work would start later in 2025 and be completed by early to mid-year 2026. This section specifically includes the area from Thursa Lane to FM 528, with work on the north end of Blackhawk Boulevard, as well as the east half of Phase II-B, expected to take more time.
As part of the work on Phase II-C, the city is working on an agreement to include the east half of the project into Phase II-C to make it one whole project, city officials said in an email on April 11.
“We’re going to be starting on the south end, from Thursa [Lane] down to FM 528,” Arias said. “That will take a couple of months, and then they’ll move to the north side and pick up at the rest of Blackhawk [Boulevard]. It will give everybody a break.”
Editor's note: This story has been updated to provide more context on the different phases of this project, as well as more details on the timeline.
