Tomball city staff will begin negotiations on alternative two with the Texas Department of Transportation after Tomball City Council chose the alternative for the FM 2920 reconstruction project during its March 20 meeting.

Alternative two features a raised median near the railroad crossing at Elm and Sycamore streets and will turn Oak and Walnut streets into one-way roads. Pedestrian crosswalks are planned for Pine, Cherry, Elm and Sycamore streets, and the alternative would restrict left turns at Walnut, Elm, Oak and Sycamore streets, according to the design.

“To move forward with our Main Street, this is the next step, to have it officially—the alternative one, two or three—voted [on] by City Council,” Mayor Lori Klein Quinn said during discussion.

The FM 2920 reconstruction project, which runs from Business 249 to Willow Street, is part of a larger TxDOT project that spans from Hwy. 290 to I-45, Community Impact previously reported. The first public meeting, held last March, saw residents and community members oppose the project’s raised medians.

In a second meeting last December, two alternative plans that featured fewer raised medians were presented to the community with a majority favoring alternative two, according to survey and public comment results.

The project, which will reconstruct FM 2920 to include drainage and signal improvements as well as sidewalks, is projected to cost $28.613 million—$22.89 million of which would come from the federal government, and $5.722 million of which TxDOT would fund, according to the March 20 agenda packet.

The city would be responsible for the design, utility relocations and 10% of the right of way acquisition cost.

During discussion, City Manager David Esquivel said alternative two does have additional costs for the city.

“The cost to the city is going to be more,” Esquivel said.

Construction on this project is not projected to begin until 2024 and once underway is expected to take about 18 months, according to the March 20 agenda packet.

All City Council members expressed their support for alternative two.

“What we’re deciding now is the future of our Main Street,” Quinn said. “It’s the future of Old Town; it’s the future direction of this town.”