Work proceeded in April on several road projects in Montgomery County, including projects funded by Texas Department of Transportation and Montgomery County Precinct 3 on roads including Robinson Road, FM 2978 and Lake Woodlands Drive.
Ongoing projects
1. Robinson Road improvements at I-45
Work began in April on a project to improve I-45 frontage road access at Woodlands Parkway and Robinson Road and to widen Robinson at Patsy Lane. The project extends from about 350 feet west of Patsy to 550 feet east of that intersection. Construction work slated includes signalizing the Woodlands Parkway-Robinson overpass at I-45 and aligning lanes on the interchange between the frontage roads. The project is expected to take 12 months to complete, according to Precinct 3 officials. In mid-April, crews were working on excavation for widening Robinson before placing the subgrade and final pavement.
Timeline: March 2020-March 2021
Cost: $2.4 million
Funding source: Montgomery County Precinct 3
2. FM 2978 widening
The project will widen FM 2978 from two to four lanes with a center turn lane from FM 1488 to south of Dry Creek in Phase 1 and from south of Dry Creek to Conroe-Hufsmith Road in Phase 2. The existing bridge over Spring Creek will also be widened. As of mid-April, Phase 1 was 42% complete, and Phase 2 was 69% complete, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Work on the bridge was 81% complete.
Timeline: September 2018-second quarter 2021 (Phase 1), January 2018-third quarter 2020 (Phase 2), October 2018-third quarter 2020 (bridge)
Cost: $21.3 million (Phase 1), $12.9 million (Phase 2), $7.6 million (bridge)
Funding sources: TxDOT, federal funds
3. Lake Woodlands Drive widening
Montgomery County Precinct 3 is widening a 0.17-mile section of Lake Woodlands Drive from west of Six Pines Drive to the western side of I-45. The project includes adding a third westbound lane between I-45 and Pinecroft Drive and making the inside lane a left turn lane. The project will be funded through the 2015 Montgomery County road bond. As of mid-April, road crews were excavating a new inside westbound lane near The Woodlands Mall entrance west of I-45.
Timeline: spring-late 2020
Cost: $1.5 million
Funding source: Montgomery County Precinct 3
4. Hwy. 242 left turn lane widening
TxDOT began work on a project to widen a left turn lane on Hwy. 242 from Harpers Way to Great Oaks Drive in February. The project was 9% complete in mid-April, according to TxDOT Public Information Officer Emily Black.
Timeline: March-second quarter 2020
Cost: $575,000
Funding source: federal funds
5. Hwy. 242 overpass at FM 1314
The project will construct a grade separation along Hwy. 242 from west of FM 1314 to east of FM 1314. This is the first of four projects to construct an overpass at Hwy. 242 and FM 1314. The project was 70% complete as of mid-April.
Timeline: July 2018-third quarter 2020
Cost: $23.5 million
Funding source: TxDOT
Recent project
Rayford Road widening completed under budget
Montgomery County Precinct 3 announced in April all lanes of Rayford Road between Richards Road and the Grand Parkway were open following a three-year project to widen the road.
The road was widened from four to six lanes, and a six-lane bridge was built to bypass the Union Pacific Corp. railroad. The project also included building a raised median and installing 6.22 miles of new drainage infrastructure.
The project was funded with 2015 Montgomery County road bond money. A total of $60 million was budgeted for the project, of which $55 million was used, according to Precinct 3 officials. Precinct 3 received a total of $84 million in bond funds, of which more than 70% were slated for projects east of I-45, officials said.
The project started in April 2017 and was completed with two contract days remaining, officials said.
Cost: $55 million
Timeline: April 2017-April 2020
Funding source: Montgomery County Precinct 3
