transportation updates1. Owens Road widening and realignment project


Formerly a private prison road, Owens Road has been transferred to Fort Bend County for public use. The project will realign the west end of Owens Road to line up with Plantation Drive. A private developer will construct two additional lanes between FM 1464 and the Grand Parkway.
Timeline: May-October



2. Brandt Lane extension


Preliminary plans are being made by Fort Bend County to extend Brandt Lane to connect and intersect Skinner Lane and Mason Road to alleviate traffic congestion. The county is working to secure right of way.
Timeline: Early 2018 –mid-2018



3. US 90A widening project


This project will widen US 90A to add a third lane in each direction from west of Hwy. 6 in Sugar Land to  the Grand Parkway near Richmond. The project is in Phase 6, which consists of placing an asphalt overlay on US 90A. A sound wall will also be constructed.
Timeline: estimated completion date of October 2017
Cost: $9.98 million
Funding sources: Texas Department of Transportation



Intersection of US 90A and FM3594. Intersection of US 90A and FM359


This project is in Phase 2 of five phases to construct an elevated intersection to eliminate the FM 359 grade crossing with the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.
Timeline: June 2016–March 2019
Cost: $27.12 million
Funding sources: federal and TxDOT



5. Intersection improvement Grand Parkway and Harlem Road


This project is in the first phase of three phases and will construct turn lanes and U-turns at the intersection of the Grand Parkway and Harlem Road. It will create four lanes by widening the left-turn lanes in both directions.
Timeline: March 2017–January 2018
Cost: $2.24 million
Funding sources: federal, TxDOT and Fort Bend County






How it works


Electronic toll tag systems in Texas work interchangeablyElectronic toll tag systems in Texas work interchangeably


In Texas there are 33 existing toll roads and 15 toll roads under construction that are operated by state, regional or county authorities, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.


The Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Austin areas use one of three electronic toll-collection systems available in Texas—TxTag, TollTag or EZ Tag.


Despite the different collection systems, a toll tag for any one of the three entities works interchangeably for the other two systems.


For example, a Dallas-area resident with a TollTag will be charged on his or her TollTag account when driving in the Austin or Houston areas on a TxTag or EZ Tag toll road.


Payments are automatically deducted from a user’s account each time a driver passes under a toll gantry as long as the driver has a toll tag. Drivers without a toll tag will be billed separately by each tolling authority.