Texas 249 expansion on the fast track Cheryl Garcia Contributing Writer Recently Montgomery County officials agreed to help the state with Texas 249 road construction by speeding up their portion of the project. A partnership between the state and county allows the 249 expansion, which includes new toll lanes and ties into the ongoing FM 1774 road improvement in Magnolia, to help ease traffic congestion in the Tomball/ Magnolia area. Although most residents are looking forward to fewer traffic stops and faster commutes, some home and business owners are not so enthusiastic. The Texas 249 and 1774 expansions are critical to growth and traffic mobility. The project is funded by the state as part of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) toll road project, which is expected to connect Houston with College Station in the future and eventually with Waco. Currently 249 extends through Tomball and Pinehurst to 1774 in Magnolia. The work which is currently in progress from Spring-Cypress Road to FM 2920 will be extended to FM 1774, which is under construction now in Magnolia and is expected to complete in 2016. Texas 249 will also connect to the Grand Parkway, which will encircle the Houston region. This long-range plan was determined to be necessary because of increased congestion and a high rate of accidents along roadways near the current project. As an example, traffic along Texas 105, which runs through Conroe and FM 1774, now carries three times the traffic that it did in 1980 and has had an increase in both crashes and fatalities (from 2008-2012 there were 207 crashes, 19 fatal, along FM 1774 and Texas 105). Toll lanes are a part of the project, but free feeder lanes will be available. The TxDOT web site projects that local toll projects like this one will add much-needed road capacity without adding significant costs to the state. Change like this is not always welcome. Some area residents are worried about a diminished quality of life and want to avoid the additional expense of tolls. Small business owners have been impacted by the construction itself and some expressed concern that regular customers turned away by the roadwork will be difficult to replace after the roads are finished. Others are concerned about being overrun by chains and big box stores building in the area to serve traveling motorists. Karen Studivant, Office Manager of Hardee Team Century 21 Realty on FM 1774 in Magnolia had a more optimistic view, feeling that economic growth will happen once the construction has passed. “All of us along this stretch have had to suffer a little to improve our business overall,” she said. Magnolia City Administrator Paul Mendes said, “Magnolia officials expect improvements in traffic movement and safety.” Mendes explained that TxDOT has widened 1774 over the years, but the road still could not accommodate all the traffic generated by higher population in the area. At times, such as during the Renaissance Festival in the fall, the volume of traffic would almost shut down the whole city. In addition, the widening of the road took longer than expected because of the time needed to move utilities that were put in place some time ago and were not documented, a common problem of road construction in an established area. He added, “TxDOT has gone out of their way to be cooperative with the city, which has helped us better tolerate this construction. Everyone is looking forward to the finish.” It is anticipated that once the roads are completed, new residents will be moving near them and more businesses will be opening to serve them. The added tax base will, in turn, allow expansion of city services such as water, solid waste pickup, sewer and police protection. It is expected that Tomball’s and Magnolia’s comprehensive development plans will be able to guard against construction that works against the small-town ambience of those cities, which is a strong benefit to residents.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 19:40:38 +0000