A road-widening project that began in August 2010 and runs through August of this year was designed to reduce congestion and improve safety along FM 529 from Greenhouse Road to west of Fry Road.

The two-phase Texas Department of Transportation project will cost $8.9 million. It will provide additional lanes, a continuous left turn lane, a curb and gutters with an underground storm sewer and sound abatement walls. Initially two lanes, upon completion the stretch of FM 529 will have an additional lane in each direction for a total of five lanes.

The project is in the second phase, which consists of work on the westbound lanes, the continuous left turn lane and the sound walls.

However, during construction, a new traffic problem that affects residents of Copperfield popped up.

"Since the onset of construction on 529, all of the traffic has veered off 529 and has moved west to Longenbaugh [Drive]," said Anthony Cecala, president of the Copperfield Coalition. "The traffic on Longenbaugh more than doubled, and that's one of the main roads through Copperfield."

There are more than 70,000 people in the various subdivisions that live in the area, and many of them use Longenbaugh, Cecala said.

"We are getting an abundance of people out in Katy that take 529 all the way out to 290, now they run into that traffic so they cut over at Fry or whatever cross streets to Longenbaugh," he said. "This creates a big problem for the Copperfield and Copper Lakes communities."

County statistics suggest that Longenbaugh has increased traffic flow to the point that it has surpassed that of West Road.

"This is something that the Copperfield residents are just going to have to endure until the project is complete," Cecala said. "Once it is complete, all of the traffic that was originally on 529 will go back to 529 and the people that were going down Longenbaugh from Fry Road may actually decide to take 529, which should move traffic a lot quicker than Longenbaugh ever would."

Additionally, the businesses on FM 529 that have seen a drop off in customers will welcome the added traffic, Cecala explained.

"Once that construction is complete, not only will they get back the original amount of traffic, but I think it will increase because people will prefer to drive down 529 instead of Longenbaugh," he said.