The Texas Transportation Commission approved the dedication of portions of the Grand Parkway to the late former Houston Mayor Bob Lanier on June 30. Harris County commissioners also voted in support of the proposal June 14.
Lanier, who served as mayor from 1992-96, died in December 2014 at age 89. He played a huge role in making the third freeway loop around the city possible, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said.
“The Grand Parkway was, as far as I know, completely Bob Lanier’s idea,” Emmett said. “He came and explained to me why we had to have this system. It was a concept that nobody had ever thought of.”
The proposal to rededicate the parkway was organized by the Texas Department of Transportation in collaboration with local officials. Overhead signs will still read “State Highway 99/Grand Parkway,” but additional signs in Lanier’s memory will be erected on the side of the road, TxDOT public information officer Danny Perez said.
