Pearland City Council voted Sept. 14 against the inclusion of three proposed freeway projects along the Hwy. 35 and Mykawa Road corridor in the Texas Department of Transportation’s 2050 Regional Transportation Plan.
What residents need to know
If added to the plan, the projects would plan for a six-lane freeway from Dixie Drive to the Brazoria County line near Beltway 8, city documents show.
Agenda documents cited concerns about the potential for a future six-lane elevated freeway to extend farther south through the Hwy. 35 and Mykawa Road corridor, including the effects on existing development, Old Town redevelopment and noise levels, as well as long-term effects of freeways built through established communities.
The resolution also asks TxDOT to provide a documented commitment to ending the freeway cross-section at Beltway 8 and to eliminating future freeway plans that would affect Pearland, including its Old Town area.
Some context
The city raised similar concerns in 2021, when TxDOT submitted the freeway projects for consideration in the plan, which included extending the freeway farther south to Hwy. 99 in Alvin, documents show.
Ultimately, none of the Hwy. 35 freeway projects were added to the plan in 2021.
Looking ahead
The city is requesting a comprehensive study of the corridor before the projects are added to the transportation plan and assurances from TxDOT that any freeway development will stop at Beltway 8 rather than continue into Pearland, documents show.
