Hwy. 249, Grand Parkway direct connectors to be completed this summer

The project to add four direct connectors between Hwy. 249 and the Grand Parkway is scheduled to be complete by the end of summer, according to the Harris County Toll Road Authority.

Once completed, northbound drivers on the tolled lanes of Hwy. 249—also known as the Tomball Tollway—will be able to enter eastbound and westbound Grand Parkway lanes, and those traveling east and west on the Grand Parkway will have direct access to southbound Hwy. 249 tolled lanes.

“When completed, the project will alleviate the need to utilize Boudreaux [Road] to connect between [the Grand Parkway] and Tomball Tollway, reducing a considerable amount of frontage road traffic,” the HCTRA said in a statement provided to Community Impact Newspaper.

The $92 million HCTRA project first began in March 2020. The majority of the foundation for the connectors has been laid as of early January, with remaining work including finishing the columns, beams and deck of the roads, according to HCTRA information.

Bruce Hillegeist, president of the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce, said he believes the direct connectors are necessary to improve traffic because of the growth the Tomball area has seen.

“Having those direct connectors at [Hwy.] 249 and Grand Parkway, it creates an ease of traffic flow. We [need] to have that,” Hillegeist said. “As highways are built, as traffic comes, business and community grows.”

Tomball City Manager David Esquivel said along with better access, the project is also likely to draw more developers. Two projects already slated include the Grand Parkway Town Center—a 65-acre mixed-use development at the southwest corner of Hwy. 249 and the Grand Parkway—and a 240-acre light industrial, distribution and retail development by Lovett Industrial at Rocky Road and the Grand Parkway.

“All of that going on at the same time; it is exciting for anybody,” Esquivel said. “Developers look at that as this is the hot place to be.”