[caption id="attachment_164616" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Transportation Updates[/caption] [caption id="attachment_165002" align="alignright" width="218"] Friendswood roadway improvements[/caption]

Friendswood roadway improvements

The city of Friendswood repavement project on Shadowbend Avenue is ongoing. The project is about 78 percent complete, according to Friendswood officials. Construction is also underway on Townes Road. The two streets are part of a group of repaving projects that include work on Mary Ann Drive and Winding Road. Voters approved funding for the projects as part of a 2013 bond referendum. Friendswood combined the projects into one contract, which City Council awarded to Houston-based El Dorado Paving Company on Dec. 7. A third roadway will begin construction upon completion of Shadowbend Avenue, officials said. • 1A. Mary Ann Drive will have 16,001 feet of its roadway replaced. • 1B. Shadowbend Avenue will have 1,224 feet of its roadway replaced. • 1C. Townes Road will have 786 feet of its roadway replaced. • 1D. Winding Road will have 2,133 feet of its roadway replaced. Timeline: March 2016-first quarter 2017 Cost: $2.5 million Funding sources: city of Friendswood, Texas Department of Transportation [caption id="attachment_165003" align="alignright" width="195"] Kingsley Drive widening[/caption]

Kingsley Drive widening

The TxDOT project to expand Kingsley Drive in Pearland is ongoing. The project will widen the thoroughfare from two to four lanes with a median from FM 518 to CR 894. A separate project to expand the county road to four lanes from Hwy. 6 to CR 894 is substantially complete, TxDOT officials said. Timeline: summer 2015-November 2016 Cost: $13.7 million Funding sources: TxDOT [caption id="attachment_165004" align="alignright" width="220"] Friendswood Link Road widening[/caption]

Friendswood Link Road widening

The city of Friendswood project to widen Friendswood Link Road is near completion. Patrick Donart, Friendswood public works director and city engineer, said City Council is expected to accept the project in August. The project, which is expected to improve an emergency evacuation route out of the city, received funding from a Texas General Land Office disaster recovery grant in the wake of Hurricane Ike in 2008. The project stretches approximately 1 mile from FM 518 to Blackhawk Boulevard. The portion from FM 518 to Hibiscus Lane, which is in Galveston County, will be widened from two to three lanes. Hibiscus Lane to Blackhawk Boulevard, which falls in Harris County, will expand from two to four lanes with medians. Timeline: fall 2014-August 2016 Cost: $5.3 million Funding sources: Texas General Land Office grant, city of Friendswood

Bailey Road widening

The city of Pearland project to widen Bailey Road is ongoing. As a result of construction, Berry Road and Wellborne Drive south of Bailey Road will be closed for the next two months, according to Pearland officials. The project, which is expected to improve east-west traffic flow in the city, will widen the thoroughfare from two to four lanes from FM 1128 to Veterans Drive. The project also includes raised medians and the installation of an improved drainage system in addition to a 10-foot-wide path for pedestrians on the north side of the road. Pearland received funding for the project as part of Houston-Galveston Area Council’s 2013 Transportation Improvement Plan. Timeline: September 2015-September 2017 Cost: $21.3 million Funding sources: H-GAC, city of Pearland