The Woodlands Township board of directors expressed concerns Wednesday regarding a proposed project to build a
new roadway in two phases between FM 2978 and Hwy. 249.
The first phase of the new road would be constructed by Montgomery County and begin at the existing intersection of Mansions Way and FM 2978—roughly one-quarter mile south of where FM 2978 and Woodlands Parkway intersect—and extend to Dobbin Hufsmith Road. The second phase of the project, to be constructed by developers, would extend the new road from Dobbin Hufsmith Road to Hwy. 249.
Although the new road project does not involve extending Woodlands Parkway from where it dead ends today at FM 2978, the township board believes it could still have direct effects on residents in the western part of the master-planned community. A
controversial Woodlands Parkway extension from FM 2978 to Hwy. 249 was included in the failed May 2015 county bond election, which more than 80 percent of The Woodlands residents who turned out to the polls voted against.
“We are still concerned about any shifting or altering to achieve the same objective,” township board Chairman Gordy Bunch said. “We are focused on it—even if you don’t hear or see it—behind the scenes we’re going to keep the pressure up to make sure we represent what [residents] wish.”
Township directors approved a resolution Wednesday asking the county to provide a traffic impact study and a forum for public input regarding the project, which runs just outside the boundaries of the township.
Montgomery County commissioners voted to approved preliminary engineering for the new road in mid-January, and a funding source will be determined as the project moves along, Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley said.
“This new road will do exactly what everybody wanted me to do [with the Woodlands Parkway extension],” Riley said. “It will take the road and move it south. Instead of having to move [the east-west connection] any further south, it goes right into a new intersection that has already been created.”
Although the new road will not provide direct access in and out of The Woodlands, the second phase of the project—constructed by developers, Riley said—would extend the new road to from Dobbin Hufsmith to Hwy. 249.
“It’s a rebranding of the same project,” Bunch said. “It’s using the exact same right of way they already have.”
Instead of building the new roadway, the township’s resolution asks the county to consider realigning and widening Hardin Store Road as a viable alternative.
“Since we didn’t want Woodlands Parkway [extended], [the county has] come back and said, ‘Let’s go a little south,’ so let’s come back and say, ‘Let’s go a little farther south,’” township Director Ann Snyder said. “If there’s an alternative showing we’d still like to find a solution, just not in our neighborhood.”
There is no date for construction set, but the first phase of the project could take about one year, Riley said.
Additional reporting by Anna Dembowski
