The repaving of Shadowbend Avenue is about 60 percent complete.[/caption]

1. Friendswood roadway improvements

The repaving of Shadowbend Avenue is about 60 percent complete, according to Patrick Donart, Friendswood public works director and city engineer. Shadowbend Avenue is one of four city streets that will have a portion of its surface replaced as part of a 2013 bond referendum. Friendswood voters approved the roadway improvements, which the city grouped in one contract. Mary Ann Drive as well as Townes and Winding roads will also be repaved as part of the project. City Council unanimously approved a construction contract for the project with Houston-based El Dorado Paving Company on Dec. 7.

1A. Mary Ann Drive will have 16,001 feet of its roadway replaced.

2A. Shadowbend Avenue will have 1,224 feet of its roadway replaced.

3A. Townes Road will have 786 feet of its roadway replaced.

4A. Winding Road will have 2,133 feet of its roadway replaced.

Timeline: March 2016-first quarter 2017
Cost: $2.5 million
Funding sources: city of Friendswood, Texas Department of Transportation

2. Friendswood Link Road widening

City of Friendswood officials expect the Friendswood Link Road expansion project to be complete in a few months. Donart said City Council will accept completion of the project, which is about 85 percent finished, in August or September barring excessive weather delays due to weather. Upon completion, Friendswood Link Road will provide an improved emergency evacuation route out of the city, officials said. The approximately 1-mile project runs from FM 518 to Blackhawk Boulevard. The thoroughfare will be widened from two to three lanes with a dedicated turn lane from FM 518 to Hibiscus Lane, the portion of the project in Galveston County. Hibiscus Lane to Blackhawk Boulevard, which is is Harris County, will expand from two to four lanes with medians.

Timeline: fall 2014-summer 2016
Cost: $5.3 million
Funding sources: Texas General Land Office grant, city of Friendswood

3. Bailey Road widening

Berry Road and Wellborne Drive south of Bailey Road in Pearland will be closed for three months as the project to widen Bailey Road continues, city of Pearland officials said. The project will expand the thoroughfare from two to four lanes from FM 1128 to Veterans Drive in an effort to ease east-west traffic congestion, officials said. The project will also install an improved drainage system in addition to raised medians. Pearland received funding as part of the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s 2013 Transportation Improvement Program.

Timeline: September 2015-September 2017
Cost: $21.3 million
Funding sources: H-GAC, city of Pearland

Hwy. 288 toll lanes

Blueridge Transportation Group, the contractor for the Hwy. 288 toll lanes project in Harris County, secured the funds to advance the project in early May, according to TxDOT officials. BTG will develop toll lanes on Hwy. 288 from Hwy. 59 to Clear Creek. Brazoria County officials will install toll lanes on Hwy. 288 from Clear Creek to CR 58 as part of a separate project. Originally scheduled to begin in late 2015, the projects are expected to start in the third quarter of 2016, TxDOT officials said. Two toll lanes in each direction will be installed in the grassy median of Hwy. 288. The two projects stretch a total of approximately 15 miles.

Timeline: third quarter 2016-summer 2019
Cost: $950 million
Funding sources: Blueridge Transportation Group, Brazoria County, TxDOT