HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — The Grand Parkway isn't even a complete loop yet and the Texas Department of Transportation is already in a position to widen it.
TxDOT has gradually opened new segments of the tollway over the last few years. Last May, a stretch in northeast Houston opened for the first time. Before that, a stretch connecting I-45 with I-69 between Spring and New Caney opened in March 2016.
In some spots, traffic is already surging beyond the tollway's initial design. Now, TxDOT said it wants to widen it from two lanes to three lanes along a stretch in northwest Harris County.
"It's all based on the numbers," TxDOT's Emily Black said. "Once the traffic got to a certain level, that's when we agreed we would start widening the freeway."
TxDOT said traffic speeds and volume as we come back from the pandemic mean it's time to widen the roads. A move that's expected to be approved this week.
If the plan moves forward, construction would start in February 2024 between SH 249 and Kuykendahl Road. Work would continue near the Exxon Mobil campus next October. Work on the stretch between I-10 and 290 would begin in 2026.
The good news is the expansion won't increase the current toll fees. The Grand Parkway is funded by toll revenue and money was earmarked for the expansion project. TxDOT said it always expected the need to widen the tollway, and even incorporated it into its original design.
"The Grand Parkway design was planned with an extra-wide median," Black said. "It's wider than the medians you'll see with any other freeway. We thought this was a likely possibility."
TxDOT also said the widening can occur without acquiring extra land and with minimal traffic disruptions.