The big picture
Tagged as Segment B, the 28-mile toll road to be built will run from League City to just south of Alvin. Two key connections will be built at I-45 and Hwy. 35, creating a new route west of the interstate.
Construction for Segment B will be divided into two phases, with the first phase connecting I-45 to Hwy. 35 and the second phase connecting the Parkway to Hwy. 288.
Texas Department of Transportation officials estimate that the first phase will cost $1.03 billion, to be funded by future toll revenues. At this point, TxDOT has not done assessments to estimate how long it will take to recuperate the funds from collected tolls, TxDOT Public Information Officer Danny Perez said.
The $1.03 billion figure includes utility relocation, right-of-way acquisition, contract administration and other associated costs in addition to construction costs.
In fiscal year 2021-22, the open sections of the Grand Parkway generated $246.6 million in toll revenues, which was $57.1 million or 30.1% more than what was generated in the previous fiscal year.
Diving deeper
TxDOT has hired a general engineering consultant to help develop a contract and preliminary design for the project.
“TxDOT and the general engineering consultant will be working on obtaining various permits, third-party agreements, right-of-way acquisition and government approvals,” Perez said. “After choosing a qualified design-build developer with the best proposal, there will be a significant effort by the design-builder to prepare final designs for approval by TxDOT before construction efforts will begin.”
TxDOT will plan to advertise a request for qualifications in the first quarter of 2025, Perez said. RFQs are pre-cursors to submitting a request for proposals.
