Texas Heritage Parkway groundbreaking ceremony set for June 10

After many years of planning, construction on the Texas Heritage Parkway will soon begin.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new thoroughfare is planned for 10:30 a.m. June 10 at the intersection of FM 1093 and the future Texas Heritage Parkway, according to an email from the Fort Bend County Precinct 3 commissioner's office.

The design plans for the Texas Heritage Parkway involve building a 6.4-mile, 200-foot-wide thoroughfare with two lanes in either direction and a median. Additionally, this new north-south road will have a total of 10 roundabouts from I-10 at Pederson Road to McKinnon Road just south of FM 1093 near downtown Fulshear.

Gary Gehbauer, an engineer with BGE Inc., which is involved with the project, said in April the project will be split into three construction sections with three construction companies overseeing each phase. Additional details about the three phases or the construction companies have not been provided.

According to a roadway agreement approved by Fort Bend County Commissioners Court May 26, the project cost is more than $55 million, funded by a public and private sources.

The landowners are also paying for a roadside trail system, which will cost about $2 million, per previous Community Impact Newspaper reporting.