1. Kuykendahl Road bridge project
A dual bridge is under construction on Kuykendahl Road over Spring Creek to mitigate traffic congestion between Montgomery and Harris counties. The right of way clearing activity has been completed on both sides of Spring Creek, bridge bents have been installed and bridge beams have been set. The bridge deck is substantially complete, said Pamela Rocchi, director of Harris County Precinct 4’s Capital Improvement Projects Division, and the contractor is now focusing on completing the north and south approaches. The projected completion date has been delayed from May 17 to June 22.
Timeline: October 2016- June 22, 2017
Cost: $6 million
Funding sources: The Woodlands Road Utility District No. 1, Montgomery County Precinct 3, Harris County Precinct 4
2. Rayford Road widening
The Montgomery County Precinct 3 road bond project will widen Rayford Road from four to six lanes between Lazy Lane and the Grand Parkway in the Spring area. In addition, a six-lane bridge will be constructed over the Union Pacific Corp. railroad tracks, new traffic signals will be installed and a raised median will be added to enhance the safety of left-turning motorists. Construction on the project began April 28, and the contractor will begin near the railroad crossing and move eastward, with a projected completion date in summer 2019, said Jacquelyn Wilson, spokesperson for the project’s public relations firm, CD&P. The public can attend a Coffee with the Project Team event from 9:30-11:30 a.m. May 22 at the Montgomery County maintenance facility to learn more about the project, construction activities and traffic control.
Timeline: April 28, 2017-summer 2019
Cost: $60 million
Funding sources: Montgomery County Precinct 3
3. Birnham Woods Drive improvements
This project will be built in two phases. (3A) Phase 1, which was completed in March, widened Birnham Woods Drive from two to four lanes between Fuller Bluff Drive and the Grand Parkway in Spring. (3B) Phase 2 will continue the widening process between the Grand Parkway and Waterbend Cove, creating a four-lane road with a center turn lane. A traffic signal will also be installed at the Birnham Woods Drive and Waterbend Cove intersection. Phase 2 will begin the week of June 12 and should be complete by the end of this summer, said Matthew Beasley, Montgomery County Precinct 3 chief of staff.
Timeline: February-March (Phase 1), June 12-early August (Phase 2)
Cost: $1.2 million
Funding sources: Montgomery County Precinct 3
4. Gosling Road bridge project
Similar to the Kuykendahl Road bridge project, a dual bridge will likewise be constructed on Gosling Road over Spring Creek as part of a future joint participation effort between Harris County Precinct 4, Montgomery County Precinct 3 and the Texas Department of Transportation. Discussions between both counties about project initiation are still in progress, Rocchi said, and a construction timeline has yet to be established.
Timeline: TBA
Cost: $7 million
Funding sources: Harris County Precinct 4, Montgomery County Precinct 3, TxDOT
How It Works
How does TxDOT prioritize construction?
Although the Texas Department of Transportation funds construction for highways and other major roads in the state right of way, metropolitan planning organizations prioritize project construction.
Texas has 25 MPOs that create transportation policy, forecast mobility needs, administer regional transportation planning, and approve state and federal funding for local and regional projects.
MPOs identify need-based projects by scoring them on safety, mobility, environmental quality, economic development, and asset management and operations. Then the MPO determines the funding and shovel-readiness of a project. If no funding is available and the project is not ready with right of way or environmental clearance, then it is shelved.
Once a project is approved by the MPO, it is added to the four-year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program or TxDOT’s 10-year Unified Transportation Program.
