Missouri City council approves agreement for intersection upgrade

An upgrade for a traffic signal at one of Missouri City’s major intersections, Hwy. 6 at Township Lane, is one step closer to construction.

During its Aug. 15 meeting, Missouri City City Council unanimously green-lit an agreement between the city and the Texas Department of Transportation that authorizes the agency to release a construction permit to the city, according to city documents. With the agreement in hand, Missouri City will now be able to bid the project, said Shashi Kumar, Missouri City director of public works and city engineer, during the meeting.

The project will transition the existing traffic signal from a span wire system to a mast arm system, which is considered more robust and resilient, Kumar said.

“Every year, public works is making an attempt to convert these span wire [intersections] into what we call a mast arm signal,” Kumar said during the meeting. “These are more resilient to weather conditions. On major corridors, we’re making an effort to convert these span wires into mast arms.”

TxDOT approval is necessary because the intersection is located within one of the agency’s transportation corridors, according to city documents. For cities with populations over 50,000, cities like Missouri City are responsible for maintaining signals and intersections along state corridors.

The total cost for the signal intersection upgrade will be about $450,000, Kumar wrote in an email. The city estimates to have the TxDOT-Missouri City agreement executed and the permit issued by the end of 2022, though TxDOT has yet to provide a firm timeline.