The Grand Parkway is expected to increase mobility in Northwest Houston.[/caption]The newest Grand Parkway segments from Hwy. 290 to I-45 North are now open.
Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation planned to open segments F-1 and F-2 of the roadway to drivers Feb. 6. The tollway could not be confirmed open as of press time Feb. 5. The two newest segments will be toll free until Feb. 15.
Segment G—from I-45 to Hwy. 59 North—is projected to open to drivers in late March, TxDOT Project Manager Greg Snider said, adding that the three segments total 38 miles.
“It took us just under three years to construct 38 miles of highway of which we had little to no right of way when we started,” Snider said. “That’s almost a mile per month. With 120 bridges, we were building about one bridge per week, some of which are a mile long. It was quite a massive undertaking.”
A driver traveling at the posted Grand Parkway speed limit of 70 miles per hour will travel from Hwy. 249 to I-45 in about 10 minutes, from Hwy. 290 to I-45 in about 20 minutes and from I-10 West to I-45 in about 32 minutes.
The Grand Parkway was designed to have frontage roads that provide roadway access. Developers have expressed interest in having more frontage roads built or extended, Snider said.
“Northcrest [Drive] will likely be one of the first locations where that happens,” he said. “The problem with that is the frontage roads can be seen as a competing facility, and when the road is financed with bond proceeds, you have a responsibility to bond holders to make sure you’re not taking drivers off the road.”
A 1-mile segment of frontage road from I-45 to Holzwarth Road was opened to traffic in April.
The Grand Parkway has already spurred a significant amount of economic activity, said Jeff Moseley, commissioner of the Texas Transportation Commission.
“When you’re talking about the return on investment, you’re talking about the foundation for jobs being set, the improvement of quality of life and improving both the movement of goods and people to the workplace,” he said. “Even with something like air quality, the Grand Parkway’s effect on congestion could potentially bring Houston from nonattainment levels back to attainment.”
Segments F-1 and F-2 were originally scheduled to open at the end of 2015. The opening was delayed after a rainy fall, TxDOT’s Houston district engineer Quincy Allen said.
The Grand Parkway segments will only be accessible to EZ Tag drivers Feb. 15. Access points feature a 43- to 45-cent charge, and main toll plaza charges range from 95 cents east of Telge Road to $1.35 north of Schiel Road. A full list of toll rates can be found at www.txtag.org.
