Drivers who commute on FM 1488 in Magnolia may see congestion relief through a widening project identified in the Houston-Galveston Area Council 10-year Transportation Improvement Program.
The project is proposed to widen FM 1488 to a four-lane roadway for 7.82 miles from Joseph Road to FM 149 between 2020 and 2025, H-GAC Program Manager David Wurdlow said. Several segments of FM 1488 in Magnolia are identified as nearing capacity, at capacity or over capacity, according to a 2015 H-GAC traffic congestion map.
“I think we’re really not handling our traffic flow right now,” Magnolia Mayor Todd Kana said. “[The project is] going to make it so much easier not just to get around town, but it also allows people the opportunity to get through town much quicker. It’s just a mobility issue. People say we should’ve done this five years ago. I’ll be more than happy when it gets here.”
In addition to widening FM 1488, the project will increase the size of the road’s shoulders and add a continuous center left-turn lane, according to Texas Department of Transportation plans. The FM 1488 widening project and the completion of the overpass at FM 1488 and FM 149 will significantly relieve congestion in the city, Kana said.
Finding funding
In summer 2014, H-GAC began making preparations to call for projects to be added to its Transportation Improvement Program, which is updated every two years, Wurdlow said. In September 2014, H-GAC issued the call for projects while projecting 10 years into the future, he said.
However, the Legislature had not yet proposed constitutional amendment Proposition 7 as a new statewide transportation funding mechanism, which was overwhelmingly approved by voters Nov. 3.
“At the time, we didn’t know about Prop. 7, and we didn’t have a full idea about Prop. 1 funding resources [approved in November 2014],” Wurdlow said. “We thought [funding] would be a lot less.
We’ve been able to go much further down the list of TxDOT corridor projects because the voters are supporting additional resources for state highways.”
The FM 1488 widening project was added to the plan due in part to the approval of Proposition 7, Wurdlow said. Proposition 7 will divert $2.5 billion each fiscal year to the State Highway Fund from general sales and use tax revenue after state revenue exceeds $28 billion.
“[Proposition 7 is] not a guarantee of how a project will get funded, but it increased the amount of funding that will come to our region,” he said. “Depending on how fast TxDOT buys right of way, it will determine how fast the project gets built.”
TxDOT’s submission of the FM 1488 widening project to the H-GAC 10-year plan indicates a strong priority to move forward with construction, Wurdlow said.
The first public meeting for the FM 1488 project was held in August 2001 with two meetings following in December. The environmental assessment was completed in 2008, and project planning is about 30 percent complete, according to TxDOT.
Drivers who commute on FM 1488 in Magnolia may see congestion relief through a widening project identified in the Houston-Galveston Area Council 10-year Transportation Improvement Program.
The project is proposed to widen FM 1488 to a four-lane roadway for 7.82 miles from Joseph Road to FM 149 between 2020 and 2025, H-GAC Program Manager David Wurdlow said. Several segments of FM 1488 in Magnolia are identified as nearing capacity, at capacity or over capacity, according to a 2015 H-GAC traffic congestion map.
“I think we’re really not handling our traffic flow right now,” Magnolia Mayor Todd Kana said. “[The project is] going to make it so much easier not just to get around town, but it also allows people the opportunity to get through town much quicker. It’s just a mobility issue. People say we should’ve done this five years ago. I’ll be more than happy when it gets here.”
In addition to widening FM 1488, the project will increase the size of the road’s shoulders and add a continuous center left-turn lane, according to Texas Department of Transportation plans. The FM 1488 widening project and the completion of the overpass at FM 1488 and FM 149 will significantly relieve congestion in the city, Kana said.
