While some local organizations applaud the project, hoping it will alleviate traffic on the congested roadway, others fear for the future of small businesses nestled along the corridor.
In 2006, TxDOT identified traffic flow problems along FM 1960 from Cutten Road to Hwy. 249. The years since have been devoted to designing a project, seeking public input and acquiring the parcels of land needed to complete the project.
“This roadway is quite congested, and the extra travel lanes with the addition of several new dedicated left-turn lanes will improve traffic flow and enhance safety,” TxDOT Public Information Officer Danny Perez said.
The Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce has made efforts to inform the community about the project with TxDOT officials scheduled to speak about it at the chamber’s virtual luncheon Feb. 10.
“It’s a pain in the neck ... when we’re being affected by it, but then as soon as the project will be over, it will most certainly be an improvement to that corridor,” Chamber President and CEO Bobby Lieb said.
The Cy-Champ Public Utility District’s representatives believe more is at stake than the typical inconveniences of construction zones, however. The organization, which serves areas along Cutten Road north of FM 1960, has opposed TxDOT’s FM 1960 plans for years, citing potential harm to local businesses.
“Several of our longtime businesses that serve this area have either gone out of business or had to relocate as a result of right of way takings by TxDOT for this FM 1960 road expansion project,” said Ron Walkoviak, Cy-Champ PUD director and board president.
A bustling corridor
Average daily traffic counts on FM 1960 near Hwy. 249 have fluctuated over the last 10 years peaking at 70,829 in 2015. Overall, traffic has risen over the last decade from 56,000 cars in 2011 to between 65,000-70,000 annually from 2014-2019, prior to the pandemic.
In 2016, TxDOT officials estimated traffic along the Willowbrook stretch of FM 1960 costs commuters 300,000 hours of time and more than $52 million in gas and other expenses each year.
“These improvements will help mobility along the corridor while certainly enhancing safety in the area,” Perez said.
One of the largest occupants of this area of FM 1960 is Willowbrook Mall, which houses 162 businesses.
“It’s a much-needed project,” said Sandy LaClave, senior general manager of the mall. “As anyone who lives or works in the area knows, traffic on FM 1960 between ... [Hwy.] 249 and Cutten is heavy throughout the day, and the added lanes will certainly help alleviate the congestion.”
In 2019, the segment of FM 1960 between Hwy. 249 and I-45, stretching 8.26 miles, was rated the 27th most congested roadway in Texas, according to a Texas A&M Transportation Institute report.
In the TTI’s most recent report on Texas’ most congested roadways in 2020, Willowbrook’s stretch of FM 1960 plummeted down the list to No. 1,306. However, this change in ranking does not necessarily mean the road’s traffic issues are gone forever, said David Schrank, a TTI senior research scientist and program manager.
“What we saw in 2020—a COVID[-19] year—was the roads that have a lot of commuter trips—especially in areas where work from home was probably prevalent—fell way down the list,” Schrank said. “FM 1960 is more of a suburban connection to get to roads like [Hwy.] 249 and [I-]45, so it probably fit into this category.”
The project
TxDOT’s project centers around adding a through lane east- and westbound on FM 1960 from the Willowbrook Mall center entrance to Cutten, effectively upgrading this section into an eight-lane divided roadway. Additionally, dual left-turn lanes and a dedicated right-turn lane will be added, and all turning lanes on FM 1960 between Centerfield Drive and Cutten will be lengthened.
Other features of the road once completed include new pavement, continuous sidewalks, added mast arm traffic signals and a new storm sewer to improve drainage, Perez said.
About 80% of the project’s funding will be federal funds, and 20% will come from the state. The bidding process will begin in June, and construction is expected to last 28 months.
In 2009, TxDOT presented a plan for FM 1960 that included a grade separation, or overpass, above the area’s railroad. The public did not like this idea, however, Perez said, and it was scrapped. The current project premiered in 2011, and funding was received in 2017.
After TxDOT released its 2011 project outline, Cy-Champ PUD members formulated alternative plans and presented them to TxDOT, but ultimately, those plans were not adopted.
“Our plan included improvements to turn lanes and driveway entrances to improve moving, turning traffic out of the way of through lanes,” Walkoviak said. “The property owners were willing to participate with those improvements.”
The Willowbrook-area project has been delayed multiple times since 2018, when bidding was first scheduled. The project was pushed in 2020 and again in April 2021 due to delays with land acquisition and utility relocations and adjustments.
As of Jan. 4, TxDOT officials were hopeful the project will be bid in June.
“It should be noted that there are a number of private utilities that need to be relocated in order for the project to be let in June,” Perez said. “These private utility relocations are outside of TxDOT’s control, and if not relocated prior to the letting date, the June date may have to be rescheduled.”
The effects
In 2017, the owners of Shannon's Fine Jewelry, formerly located on FM 1960, began receiving letters from TxDOT about the planned project, said Deborah Deshazos, who worked as a senior salesperson for the store at the time. The road in front of the store was going to be expanded, meaning the business’s front door would need to be relocated.
The store’s owners looked into how much making the needed adjustments would cost, Deshazos said, but it did not seem financially feasible.
“So the next thing that we employees knew was [the owner] made an announcement that he was going to ... sell the business because of TxDOT because he ... just didn’t want to have to put the money into it to reconfigure the building or to make a move and that he was ready to retire,” she said.
After purchasing the business in 2018, Deshazos and her husband relocated the business—now Shannon Jewelers—to a new storefront in the Grand Parkway Marketplace. Today, Deshazos said although the couple misses their former clients, they have no intention of moving back to FM 1960 due to safety concerns.
“We absolutely miss our clientele over there,” Deshazos said. “It was a great place to be, and we had clients for 39 years over there.”
However, TxDOT officials said they do not anticipate the project will affect businesses in the area besides the routine disturbances construction will bring to traffic.
“We are taking right of way for this project, but it isn’t requiring businesses to move from their current location,” Perez said. “There may be some periodic impacts during construction in terms of lane closures, but we will do our best to limit any impacts to the surrounding businesses during construction.”
In the long run, Lieb said he believes the project could keep community members shopping in the Willowbrook area.
“People make decisions based on cost and convenience,” he said. “And if accessing those retail stores becomes too inconvenient as a result of traffic congestion, people will find alternatives.”
TxDOT officials hope to minimize traffic disruptions during the project by keeping the normal number of traffic lanes open to the public, Perez said.
