Montgomery County sent a letter to the Texas Department of Transportation in October requesting permission to use $58.7 million in pass-through funding to move several state highway projects forward. The tool allows the state to reimburse some project costs by paying a fee for each vehicle that drives on the road.

A list of 12 projects were selected between the four county precincts.

The $58.7 million comes from tolls collected on roads such as Hwy. 249 that are held in escrow by TxDOT. Jason Millsaps, chief of staff for the county judge, said the county is not in sole control of the funding, but it can request it to be used toward specific projects.What's next

County officials have previously submitted a call for projects with the Houston-Galveston Area Council to increase chances of advancing projects in a timely manner, Millsaps said. While the pass-through funding takes place through a separate request directly to TxDOT, the efforts are coordinated to move projects forward on the county’s list while reducing the tax burden on residents, he said.