Construction is underway on the first portion of a two-part widening project for a segment of the Grand Parkway aimed at alleviating traffic in the northern part of Spring, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
The project will run along the F-2 segment of the Grand Parkway from Hwy. 249 in Tomball to Holzwarth Road in Spring. Construction, which began in June, will widen the roadway from four to six lanes and replace the toll road’s grassy median with a concrete barrier, TxDOT officials said.
Bobby Lieb, president and CEO of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce, said he believes the need to expand this segment less than a decade after its original opening in 2016 is a testament to the surrounding area’s growth.
“The popularity of its use... validates its effectiveness and necessity for moving people and goods through northwest Harris County,” Lieb said.
Breaking down the project
The Spring-area Grand Parkway expansion project is divided into two parts with work underway on Segment A, which stretches from Hwy. 249 to Kuykendahl Road. TxDOT Public Information Officer Bambi Hall said this portion of the project is estimated to take 32 months and cost $55.7 million to complete.
Work on the second portion of the project—Segment B, which runs from Kuykendahl to Holzwarth roads—is expected to open for contractor bidding on Sept. 1, 2027, Hall said. This segment will take up to 36 months to complete and was previously estimated to cost $45.94 million. An updated cost estimate was not available as of press time.
Both segments of the expansion are being funded by Grand Parkway toll revenue, which is managed by the Grand Parkway Transportation Corp., Hall said. No major changes have been made to the expansion project since its conception in late 2022.
Dozens of restaurants, shops, apartments and other businesses are located along TxDOT’s Grand Parkway expansion project.
Larreen Hawks, an employee at family-owned business Hawk’s Law Firm—located near the Grand Parkway and FM 2920—said business has not been impacted so far by the construction. However, Hawks said she doesn’t expect expanding the Grand Parkway’s number of lanes will alleviate traffic.
“We’ve been here 25 years,” Hawks said. “They put a [sign] in front of our parking lot so we can’t turn left out of our parking lot anymore. There’s a bunch of complaints about that, but other than that [no complaints].”
In response to an Oct. 28 Facebook post from Community Impact asking locals to share their thoughts on the project, resident Judy Cucchi DeTrude said she never knows what traffic will be like when she uses the roadway.
“This is a new highway, so I cannot understand why someone did not have the foresight to have more lanes when it was constructed,” DeTrude wrote in her response. “It would have been cheaper and less disruptive to do it in the very beginning.”
Some context
Segment F-2 of the Grand Parkway—which runs from Hwy. 249 to I-45 North—opened to traffic and tolling in February 2016.
Hall said the roadway opened with four lanes because development of the Grand Parkway is governed by a Market Valuation Waiver Agreement that TxDOT signed with Houston’s seven counties in 2009. The agreement called for a four-lane, controlled access toll road, but included markers for potential future expansion—level of service thresholds, which are met when a “significant number of vehicles stops at signals,” according to TxDOT’s annual 2023 report.
Over the past eight years, data shows traffic has increased along Segment F-2 of the Grand Parkway. From 2021 to 2023, traffic increased by 89% at the Hwy. 249 intersection and by 29% at the FM 2920 intersection, according to TxDOT data. As a result, Hall said the roadway is now being expanded after reaching the level of service threshold.
North Houston Association President Marlisa Briggs said she believes easing congestion along the Grand Parkway will improve access to businesses in the area, while providing land development opportunities for residential projects.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of thriving communities ... independently owned and operated stores and restaurants [along the Grand Parkway] ... rely on customers being able to access their places of business.”
In a Nov. 5 email, Lieb said traffic counts are a key consideration for a business’s location.
“The higher the traffic count the more eyes will notice the business ... and signage,” Lieb said.
According to analysis of prior reporting by Community Impact, over the past 18 months, at least seven businesses have opened along the Grand Parkway between Hwy. 249 and Holzwarth Road—the same limits of the widening project. Four more businesses are expected to open in this area by early 2025.
What to expect
Work for Segment A so far has included demolition for widening and drainage, Hall said. Next, widening of the roadway and bridges will be completed, but TxDOT’s work set up is not expected to change majorly until mid-to-late 2026.
“As someone who drives that corridor, the construction is having an impact on traffic flow, as all construction projects do, but [TxDOT has] been able to keep two lanes open in both directions, which is good project design,” Lieb said.
Despite the challenges of expanding a roadway “in a dense urban environment,” TxDOT aims to minimize traffic disruptions, Hall said.
“TxDOT and all its contracting partners prioritize safety, daily, to work effectively and expeditiously,” Hall said.
Carson Weaver contributed to this report.
