Currently, drivers using McHard within Pearland could only go from FM 521—or Almeda Road—to Stone Road if on the west side of town, or from Pearland Parkway to Mykawa Road on the east side of town.
“[The extension] is going to allow people to have additional options other than the Beltway [8] or if you’re just traveling a short distance, 518 [Broadway Street],” Epperson said.
Construction for the $46.68 million project began in September 2020 and will provide the city with its fourth full east-to-west thoroughfare within the city that stretches from at least Hwy. 35 to Hwy. 288.
The scope of the entire project includes the creation of a four-lane, divided roadway with concrete curbs between Mykawa Road and Cullen Boulevard.
It will also include raised medians, underground drainage, new storm sewers, outfalls and detention, and the installation of five traffic signals at secondary roads, according to the city of Pearland.
Once the project is fully complete, travelers on McHard Road will be able to go from Pearland Parkway to the city’s limit on the west side at Almeda Road and beyond into Missouri City.
Despite the length of the road, it is mainly zoned for residential, and city officials expect that to remain the case with few exceptions, Epperson said. For example, Mykawa Road has general commercial and mixed-use zones.
“A lot of [McHard Road] is zoned residential,” Epperson said. “There’s pockets as you get closer to Mykawa that are general commercial and some that are mixed use. A lot of it has got a large acreage ... [and] is zoned residential, so I don’t know if we see that changing significantly.”
Other top transportation projects
The Texas Department of Transportation is working on a Friendswood Drive sidewalk project from FM 2351, or East Edgewood Drive, to Whispering Pines Avenue.
The project includes constructing sidewalks, curb ramps, driveways, signage and pavement markings, and new light signals, TxDOT Public Information Officer Danny Perez said. The work costs $2.77 million and will be completed in April.
