An extensive roadway and waterway project is underway in the master-planned community of Bridgeland. By late 2016 the 2.5-mile Bridgeland Creek Parkway will extend from Fry Road to the Grand Parkway, providing easier access to the toll road and additional green space in the community.

“The phase we are working on is fairly massive,” said Peter Houghton, vice president of master-planned communities for Bridgeland. “I liken it to the work the [city of Houston] has done on Buffalo Bayou close to downtown—this will be pretty similar.”

The waterway—Josey Creek—runs the length of Bridgeland Creek Parkway west of the Grand Parkway.

“All major thoroughfares in Bridgeland that run east and west were planned to run along lakes,” Houghton said. “That is the design we’re utilizing on Bridgeland Creek Parkway, with large lakes bordering the road all the way into Town Center.”

The project will feature two horseshoe parking lots similar to Allen Parkway, a pavilion, an observation tower, a canoe launch facility, a large playground and a trail with a 10- to 12-foot bike lane along the roadway. The landscaping along Josey Creek will be extensive, featuring aquatic plantings in the lake, forestations with a mix of small and large trees, and ornamental and native grasses.

The roadway—which initially will be two lanes in both directions—will serve as one of the main access points to Town Center, which will be adjacent to the Grand Parkway and feature a mix of retail and office space.

“With the completion of the Grand Parkway over to Hwy. 59 later this year, we are anticipating some fairly immediate development in Town Center following the completion of that road,” Houghton said. “We did need a thoroughfare that was continuous from Fry Road to the Grand Parkway for the benefit of that Town Center.”

Cypress residents will also be able to access a future Cy-Fair ISD multischool site and a large church campus by using the roadway, Houghton said.

As the community grows—there will be 20,000 homes at build-out—the roadway could be expanded, specifically between the intersections of the future Mason Road and the Grand Parkway, where Houghton said there are proposed future turn lanes.

When the new roadway reaches the Grand Parkway, residents will no longer have to use House Hahl Road to reach the toll road.

“We really think this will be a world-class amenity here in Bridgeland and the Cypress area,” Houghton said. “It kills many birds with one stone: access from Fry Road to the Grand Parkway; access to the new school campus and church; and convenience to all residents with access to the Grand Parkway.”