1. Franz Road improvements
Anas Garfaoui, a planning technician with the city of Katy, said the city’s contractor started the Franz Road relocation and expansion project Oct. 10. Phase 1 consists of a four-lane concrete boulevard extension from the intersection of Avenue D and Franz Road westward to Scott Ranch Road at the Falls at Green Meadows subdivision. Phase 1 should take eight to 10 months to complete, Garfaoui said.
Timeline: October 2016-August 2017
Cost: $2.1 million
Funding sources: Katy Development Authority
2. Gaston Road widening
A 1.6-mile stretch of Gaston Road from north of Greenbusch Road to south of Katy Flewellen Road will be widened. The two-lane asphalt road is set to be replaced by a four-lane concrete boulevard with a raised median and underground storm sewer. According to Stacy Slawinski, assistant engineer of projects for Fort Bend County, the design phase is 95 percent complete, and the county is working on acquiring the required right of way.
Timeline: April 2017-April 2018 (contingent upon right of way acquisition)
Cost: $9.1 million
Funding sources: Fort Bend County
3. Cane Island Boulevard project
The design for Cane Island Boulevard—a new 0.8-mile two-lane concrete roadway and bridge over Willow Fork between I-10 and FM 1463—is 95 percent complete, according to Stacy Slawinski, assistant engineer of projects for Fort Bend County. Slawinski said the county is in the process of acquiring the necessary right of way. Contracts with pipeline companies are in the negotiation stage, and relocations are set to begin later this year, he said.
Timeline: April 2017-April 2018 (contingent upon right of way acquisition)
Cost: $8.2 million
Funding sources: Fort Bend County, city of Katy, Ventana Development
The Grand Parkway Segment D[/caption]4. Feeder road study
The Texas Department of Transportation has begun studying Segment D of the Grand Parkway to determine what improvement projects are necessary in the area, said Deidrea George, public information officer for TxDOT’s Houston District.
One project under consideration is the addition of feeder roads to Segment D, which covers the 17.4-mile stretch from Hwy. 59 in Sugar Land to I-10 in the Katy area. Because Segment D was the first segment of the Grand Parkway—it was completed in August of 1994—frontage roads were not deemed a necessity at the time.
“When it was completed, and even when it was studied back in the ’70s, frontage roads were not considered because of the times,” George said. “Twenty-plus years ago, it was country out there.”
However, due to exponential residential and commercial growth in the Katy area over the last 20 years, George said there is an increased need for frontage roads. TxDOT’s Project Development section is in the preliminary planning process to make feeder roads on Segment D a reality, she said.
“[Plans] are preliminary at best,” George said. “But they are in the process of a study in the area to see about improvements. Clearly, continuous frontage road access would be one of those things that they’re studying. The connectivity would be better with continuous frontage roads.”
George said results from the study will not be made public until they are finalized. A timeline and funding sources have not yet been determined, she said.
