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Grand Parkway won't open until 2016

On a section of the Grand Parkway spanning Texas 249 south of Tomball, all that's missing are the cars and trucks.
When the wind is calm and traffic flows smoothly on the road below this span, it's almost peaceful on the long-awaited and long-maligned Grand Parkway. And it's likely to remain that way a bit longer than predicted. Builders of the next major stretch of the enormous third freeway loop, from U.S. 290 to U.S. 59 northwest of Houston, confirmed that heavy rains earlier this year washed away any hope of the new segments opening in 2015.

"We had 60-to-90 days where we pumped water out," said Joe Wilson, construction manager for Zachry-Odebrecht Parkway Builders, the joint venture constructing the tollway.
For now, the four lanes and entrance ramps are the domain only of passing dump trucks and pickups headed to one of the dozens of job sites spread across the 38 miles of construction zone.
Despite "a great September and really strong October," Wilson said crews couldn't meet the end of the year goal.
Officials are now focused on opening in the first quarter of 2016, though project spokeswoman Ibette Cavazos said details of which segments will open when are still being worked out.

For safety and to expedite work, however, it's likely that the miles of finished road will wait for the final touches before motorists begin using the tollway. Wilson said the $1.1 billion job has reached a point where weather is unlikely to affect it, and crews can make quick work of tasks like painting lane markers and hanging signs.
"Those doors close rapidly when you've got the workforce we have out here," he said.
For northwest Harris County residents and others, the wait can be tough. Mike Vanderslice, 44, said he's watched eagerly as the tollway near his home has taken shape around Texas 249, hoping it reduces his commute time to southern Montgomery County, east of The Woodlands. He was disappointed to learn he'd be using Louetta a bit longer.


"Everything is just so crowded," Vanderslice said, estimating his commute has increased by 20 minutes each way in the past two years, partly as a result of the construction of new lanes.
That work, especially on the Grand Parkway, has come with challenges, notably the massive amount of rain the Houston area received in May and June. Wilson said Segment G of the parkway - the current project encompasses segments F1, F2 and G - was "totally exposed" when the rains came.
Excavations and clearings from Interstate 45 to U.S. 59 essentially became mudholes. Other spots, notably an underpass at FM 2920, also fared poorly in the storms.
Along the route, crews work on tasks ranging from new curbs and medians at local street crossings, to final checks of overpasses. Seeing the last phases come together is a welcome sign to some and a harbinger of things to come, even as they lament the delays.
"People really are looking for mobility solutions," said Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle, whose area is crossed by the new Grand Parkway segments.


Cagle called the tollway the next step in developing more of Houston's "rims and spokes," where freeways radiate and encircle one another from central Houston's downtown core. The area's growth has generated a third ring to connect places like Katy and The Woodlands - and eventually southern segments south of Missouri City, toward Pearland, League City and eventually close to Galveston Bay.
Critics see the "Grand Porkway," as Houston Tomorrow executive director Jay Blazek Crossley calls it, as a wasteful capitulation to development interests, citing the environmental and social costs of constantly building farther from core jobs and services.

For good or ill, the tollway's effects are undeniable. Office and commercial development is booming along Segment E, from Interstate 10 to U.S. 290. Officials in Montgomery and Harris counties, meanwhile, say the upcoming segments will connect people to new homes and businesses surrounding ExxonMobil's new northern Harris County campus. Even many people angered by construction-related lane closings in southern Montgomery County concede the tollway, eventually, will increase their travel choices.
"Being able to bypass Houston, and not have to use the (Sam Houston Tollway) will be nice," Mary Hardwicke said.


The tollway, however, is hardly the end of construction for northern Harris and southern Montgomery counties. Voters in both counties approved road bonds last month.
Cagle said new bridges for Kuykendahl and Gosling remain top priorities; both are joint projects between Harris and Montgomery counties, and both have been pushed back by funding and other issues.
Despite the delays, Cagle said he believes residents are starting to sense relief is on the way after two years of construction detours, muddy streets and noisy work.
"The feeling is people can put up with anything as long as they can see the end," he said.

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Thanks for posting the article as it was behind a subscription. Was hoping this would be done sooner rather than later, but oh well..

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Calling the rain in May and June a cop-out.

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Getting hung up on word usage.

You one of the project managers or something?

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Thanks for posting the article as it was behind a subscription. Was hoping this would be done sooner rather than later, but oh well..

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Thanks for posting the article as it was behind a subscription. Was hoping this would be done sooner rather than later, but oh well..

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Houston Chron sucks sh t and is dumb for thinking news should be behind a paywall.

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This project was going to be behind by 15-18 monyhs from the very beginning. Has bothing to do with weather or contractor wanting extra money. This is a Design/Build with a fixed, bid price. ZOPB faces significant damages for major delays.

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Based on their initial bid it was supposed to be early 2015 when they said they could finish. ZOPB had some major issues with thst initial bid and schedule so, the Q1 date that is out there is the one after realizing their issues.

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ZOPB has change ordered in a lot they left out of original bid and schedule...being able to do so had upset many

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ZOPB has change ordered in a lot they left out of original bid and schedule...being able to do so had upset many

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TXDOT and Harris County hadn't agreed on the alignments for many of the cross streets. Much of the design was completed when Harris County and TXDOT finally agreed on the cross street alignments, and some of the intersections had to be re-designed.

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Thanks for posting the article as it was behind a subscription. Was hoping this would be done sooner rather than later, but oh well..

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Anyone seen updates on this? I still can't find specific dates... Why do they keep the public in the dark about this?

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