Funding has been advanced for two transit projects in Fort Bend County. The Commissioners Court unanimously approved advancing $49 million in funding for the construction of Texas Heritage Parkway and advancing $1 million for site acquisition and relocation expenses related to a new emergency operations center.
A longtime proposed project in the Katy and Fulshear area, Texas Heritage Parkway will be a 6.4-mile, 200-foot-wide thoroughfare—with two lanes in each direction and a median—connecting the Westpark Tollway to I-10. Design plans also include roundabouts, landscaping and a trail system. Project funding will be provided by Fort Bend County, the city of Fulshear, the city of Katy and landowners.
In January, local officials said Texas Heritage Parkway was expected to begin construction in mid-2019. Construction is now projected to start in the next month or two, said Andy meyers, Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner, at the Oct. 9 Fulshear-Katy Area Chamber of Commerce event.
“We’ve been delayed a little bit, mainly because the last portion of it—we didn’t have the right of way,” he said.
Once crews break ground, Texas Heritage Parkway will take about 12-18 months to build, Meyers said.
Meanwhile, the county has been working on plans to build a new emergency operations center, overseen by the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management. According to the judge's office, the court is considering constructing a new facility at the existing EOC site located at 307 Fort St., Richmond.
Design details and construction costs are not available because the project is in the beginning states, according to the judge's office. In September, the court approved a resolution to advance $1.2 million in funding for the center’s design. No other details regarding the project have been revealed.
