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Commuters will see a few more years of construction on one of the area’s busiest freeways. But TxDOT says once that work is complete, traffic coming in from the northwest should flow a lot smoother.
Appearing on Houston Matters, TxDOT’s Karen Othon says 688,000 people currently live along the U.S. 290 corridor. By 2040 that number is expected to increase to nearly a million.
And the problem is that the freeway has already outgrown its capacity.
“As more and more development occurs out along 290, and this is past Jersery Village, this is out to Fairfield and the Grand Parkway, there are more and more people living there and commuting in.”
Working on an accelerated schedule, Othon says TxDOT currently has nine active projects on 290, from the 610 Loop to Mueschke Road.
There will be four general purpose lanes inbound and outbound, with managed lanes in the middle.
“This summer we’ll take bids on one section that’s further out west, just west of Mueschke, and then in the next year or so, we’ll have the last two segments. We’ll take bids for construction.”
The total cost of the work between 610 and State Highway 99 is $1.8 billion. TxDOT hopes to finish all the work by 2017.
Houston Matters full segment: Will Traffic on 290 Ever Be Better?
