The new road, stretching from Pollard Boulevard to Del Bello Boulevard, is expected to officially open the week of Aug. 26, according to an Aug. 15 news release from Hillwood. Officials said it will provide an additional access point from Hwy. 6 to Hwy. 288, which could help alleviate traffic congestion.
What you need to know
Russel Bynum, general manager of Hillwood Communities in the Houston area, said traffic backups on the intersection of Hwy. 6 and Hwy. 288 create a “big bottleneck” and are rooted from increased construction activity on Hwy. 288.
Bynum said the opening of this road will save drivers 10 minutes and will provide another route for emergency medical services, police, firefighters and residents.
“This is a big connector piece from [Hwy.] 6 to [Hwy.] 288,” Bynum said. “For forever there’s really not many mobility corridors that connect the heart of Manvel to [Hwy.] 288 other than Hwy. 6. Now with the addition of Pollard coming up all the way north, connecting into Del Bello we’re able to extend that.”
The road cost well over $100 million. Since the road was fully funded by Hillwood Communities, the city of Manvel did not make any financial contributions, Bynum said.
What else?
The road will also provide quicker transportation routes to nearby schools in Alvin ISD. Bynum said the following schools will benefit from the road:
- E.C. Mason Elementary
- Manvel Junior High
- Manvel High School
Construction on the road started in January and went through three phases to increase efficiencies, Bailey Cuadra, development manager for Hillwood Communities, said in an email Aug. 21.
Over a mile of construction on Pollard Boulevard was completed from the Bluewater Lakes Community, and nearly a mile of construction was completed on Del Bello Boulevard, Cuadra said in an email.
The only delay the construction project faced was during Hurricane Beryl, due to which the project was delayed three weeks, Bynum said.
The new road also sits at the entrance of Valencia, a 440-acre master-planned community in Manvel, according to the news release.
Along with the road, a wet utility, which focuses on water, wastewater and drainage, was installed during construction to serve the land in surrounding communities, including Valencia, Cuadra said in an email.
What’s next
Although the road will officially be set to open the week of Aug. 26, the new road will also eventually fully open to two lanes each way, as well as sidewalk installments added to where the new road starts at Valencia, Manvel Mayor Dan Davis said.
“As a city, the key is ensuring that as you grow you also have flexible mobility throughout your city, not just streets, but sidewalks and multi-use trails, and that’s really what we’re focused on now,” Davis said.
