On June 12, Community Impact reported the David Memorial Drive extension project may be postponed due to the city of Conroe's constrained budget. The road is being extended north to Hwy. 242 through a collaboration between the cities of Conroe and Shenandoah, Montgomery County, and Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital. John Bleyl, the city engineer for Shenandoah, said there are three possible outcomes for the project now.

What you need to know

Bleyl said the design work for David Memorial Drive is already 100% complete, and the engineering department submitted a construction bid June 8 to the city of Shenandoah for approval.

Bleyl said funding needs to be settled by Sept. 6 or a bid cannot be awarded.
  • It will take one year to build the road, including the Conroe portion.
  • The construction bid is a little over $7.4 million.
  • The city of Shenandoah approved an interlocal agreement for the project on April 26.
  • As of June 15, the city of Conroe hasn't taken any action on its portion of the interlocal agreement.
The options

Depending on how the city of Conroe votes, Bleyl said one of three outcomes will happen in the next 90 days.
  • No. 1: The interlocal agreement is signed and the project moves forward as planned.
  • No. 2: The city of Conroe decides not to sign the agreement at all and the project is dead.
  • No. 3: A change order is made to the current agreement to take out the city of Conroe's cost portion.
  • If a change order is made, the city of Shenandoah and Montgomery County can begin construction on their portions of the project.
  • Under the third option, Conroe will not have to fund their cost until fiscal year 2024-25.
According to John Bleyl


"The construction could start and be worked on within the city of Shenandoah and Montgomery County portions," Bleyl said in a phone interview. "That could happen. If Conroe chose to move their portion out another year then [the project] could be finished, if the funding was approved the following year."

Stay tuned

The city of Shenandoah discussed David Memorial Drive during executive session at a June 14 City Council meeting. No action was taken. Mayor John Escoto said the ball is now in Conroe's court.

"The city of Shenandoah is committed to continue working with our funding partners to see this project through to its fruition," he said during the meeting. "So, we are expecting every single one of our funding partners to take the appropriate action, as we have already committed and so has the county."
  • Bleyl said a decision needs to be made before Sept. 6.
  • The city of Conroe will vote on the its budget Sept. 4.