The Woodlands Township board of directors has voiced opposition to several road projects included in the Montgomery County Thoroughfare Plan and the South County Mobility Study.

Directors unanimously approved a resolution during a Feb. 24 board meeting objecting to five proposed projects and asking that they be removed from the plan.

Projects include the Woodlands Parkway extension to Hwy. 249; a Branch Crossing Drive extension north of Research Forest Drive to FM 1488; an extension of Gosling Road north of Hwy. 242 to the city of Conroe; an extension of Grogans Mill Road north of Vision Park to Hwy. 242; and the expansion of Grogans Mill Road south of Woodlands Parkway in the township.

“It’s one thing to bring people into the community to get here to shop and work, but it’s another to provide a thoroughfare where they just go through the community,” Director Mike Bass said.

Montgomery County Commissioners Court approved the county’s thoroughfare plan during its Jan. 26 meeting after a presentation from the Houston-Galveston Area Council.

The 6-mile Woodlands Parkway extension from FM 2978 to Hwy. 249 was included in last May’s county road bond package, which more than 80 percent of Woodlands residents who turned out to the polls voted against. The bond measure failed after receiving only 43 percent voter approval countywide. The extension was not included in the November county road bond, which passed with 63 percent voter approval.

The township’s issue with the Grogans Mill extension in the south county study involves a proposed direct flyover at I-45 into Sawdust Road, an expansion of Grogans Mill Road to six lanes and the creation of an underpass at Woodlands Parkway.

“Because of the problems on I-45, H-GAC has created these north/south thoroughfares—Grogans Mill and Gosling—instead of dealing with the problem,” Bass said.

Alden Bridge resident Bill Bass spoke during the Feb. 24 meeting against the proposed Grogans Mill, Gosling and Branch Crossing extensions.

“This isn’t about deterring people from getting to The Woodlands, but rather about them using roads that were meant to handle large amounts of traffic to get them to our great community without adding risk to residents,” he said. “By extending these roads, residents of The Woodlands will be exposed to traffic in sections of the community that already experience congestion.”