Montgomery County officials hosted a Coffee with the Project Team event May 22, providing local residents and business owners the opportunity to voice concerns and learn more about the Rayford Road widening project.

The Montgomery County Precinct 3 project, which began April 28, will widen Rayford Road from four lanes with a middle turn lane to six lanes with no middle turn lane, between Lazy Lane and the Grand Parkway in the Spring area.

Matt Beasley, Montgomery County Precinct 3 chief of staff, said some of the first pieces of the project involve mobilization of the contractor and some utility adjustments.

“If you drive down Rayford Road, you’ll notice that a lot of the electrical poles are waiting to be moved back,” he said. “So there’s been a lot of work upfront before we can actually put pavement on the ground, but it’s still things that have to be done for these types of projects.”

A six-lane bridge will also 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.

“This project is going to help not only the people who travel on Rayford Road, but also the people who live along it,” Beasley said. “Rayford Road is probably one of the most heavily traveled roads [in the county] that still has an at-grade railroad track crossing. During peak hours, if a train comes through it really backs everything up, not to mention that school buses have to stop at the tracks regardless.”

The project team will begin working at the west end of the project, near the railroad tracks, and move eastward down the corridor to the Grand Parkway.

The $60 million project, which was one of the top priority short-term projects in the South Montgomery County Mobility Study, was included in the November 2015 road bond referendum approved by approximately 63 percent of voters, Beasley said.

During the May 22 meeting, several residents voiced concerns regarding drainage and noise issues from the project, while local business owners voiced concerns that the lack of a middle turn lane would make businesses less accessible to customers.

“We’ve pretty much determined where vehicles can make a left turn safely across three lanes of traffic, so we’re probably not going to make any adjustments to the access management points we have already,” Beasley said. “Drivers are just going to have to get used to making U-turns or planning their trips a little bit differently than they used to.”

The project is slated to be complete by late summer 2019. For more information, click here or call 281-624-6326.