By J.T. Morse, reporting for Bluebonnet News
The Grand Parkway Infrastructure project, SH-99 segments H, I-1, and I-2 — that’s a mouthful that essentially boils down to saying the East Montgomery and Liberty County legs of the Grand Parkway.
Mouthful or not, the installation of this new parkway is affecting the lives of folks in the Greater Houston Area.
“These sections of the Grand Parkway project are still on schedule to be completed in the Spring of 2022. All three segments will open simultaneously. To date, approximately 30 percent of the project has been completed,” reports GPI PR Manager Chris Neil. These sections will most greatly impact the areas of New Caney, Porter, Eastgate and Dayton.
According to Neil, teams are hard at work on the bridges over Valley Ranch Boulevard in the New Caney stretch. The progress will be predominately focused on this bridge into early January when the team will then shift to constructing the bridge that will cross over IH-59/IH-69. Stay alert for traffic impacts on IH-59 in the New Caney area throughout December and January.
Shortly after the new year, crews are planning to begin erecting the bridges over Loop 494, near New Caney High School and the ISD offices.
“GPI is working very closely with New Caney ISD to ensure that the bridge work over Loop 494 has little to no impact on school operations, including weekend events,” Neil noted.
While this may be true, fans of sporting and school-related happenings during these months may want to plan for the impact of additional traffic issues.
“Further into Liberty County in Dayton, the team continues to work on the main lanes, frontage roads, and the many bridges associated with the project,” he said. “While most of the construction in Liberty County may not be seen by the public, there is a considerable amount of work being performed.”
Most recently, the project team for this area started foundation work on a bridge that will travel over FM 1413.
GPI recognizes the impact that this massive roadway project will have on the impacted communities.
“With the 52.3 miles of new highway being built, there will be a number of traffic impacts to the public over the duration of the project to perform construction activities safely and efficiently. We continue to work very closely with the many cities and counties within the project limits to help minimize, to the extent possible, the inconvenience to residents and business owners,” Neil said.
For updates, concerned citizens and curious community members can find information on the Facebook and Twitter social media pages for @sh99grandpwky or by logging on to the project webpage at www.sh99grandpkwy.com.
To encourage patience and support of the Grand Parkway project, Neil said, “This project will also support business growth outside of Houston. The project team employs qualified subcontractors and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) contractors. We are always looking for great people with great skills to join our team. All employment opportunities can be found on the project website.”
Whether looking for an employment opportunity with GPI, needing to know how to navigate through the construction delays, or learning how to access the new and improved roadways, Bluebonnet News will do its best to keep you up to date.
