Vicksburg Boulevard is being extended to connect Lake Olympia Parkway with Hwy. 6 through a partnership between Missouri City, Fort Bend County and the local reinvestment zone and municipal utility providers.

"Approximately 2,300 homes currently access this area through [the Hwy. 6] entrances," Assistant City Manager Scott Elmer said. "The Vicksburg Boulevard extension will provide a secondary access for this area that will shift traffic from Hwy. 6 and the heavily congested Fort Bend Parkway intersection."

Land acquisition for the project is underway. Construction is expected to start in early fall, and the roadway is expected to be open to traffic in early 2015, city officials said.

City Council awarded Terra Associates with the design contract for the project. The county is funding the design work via a $1 million contribution while the local utility districts—MUDs 47 and 48—will pay for sidewalk and drainage construction. TIRZ 2 will pay the remaining construction costs—estimated to be about $825,000.