http://www.hcnonline.com/site/news.cfm?new...32606&rfi=6 Highway 90 connection project under way Soon, it will be easier for area commuters to reach Loop 610. A much-needed improvement project for Highway 90 will connect the existing gap between Beltway 8 and Interstate 10 and Loop 610. The construction project is already underway with U.S. Reps. Gene Green (D-Texas 29th) and Ted Poe (R-Texas 2nd) announcing the improvements last week at an on-site ground breaking ceremony. "This is an important project for all of southeast Texas," said Poe. "It's an issue that affects many people in this region." Although sitting on opposite sides of the political aisle, Green and Poe said it was important to put politics aside for the benefit of their constituents. "This was never a political issue. It's a people issue," Poe said. The $158 million project was brought forth by both Green and Poe. The representatives agreed that it was unusual for the same request for funds come from two congressmen representing different parties. "We may have different political ideas, but we both work for public benefit," Green said. Gary Trietsch, district engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDot), said completing the project would fill a vital gap on Houston's east side. "Now that funding is in place, we are full steam ahead," he said. The finished project will feature a six-lane thoroughfare, with three lanes going in each direction. The project is already about 60 days in progress and should be completed in four years. According to Quincy Allen, area engineer for TxDoT, the project will be completed in three phases. The first phase encompasses US 90 from Uvalde to the Wallisville Bridge at Normandy, a total distance of 3.129 miles. The second phase, which totals a distance of 2.763 miles, stretches from Wallisville to Mercury. Those two phases were started in August. The third phase, which was started last month, stretches from Mercury to the Interstate 10/Loop 610 interchange. The total distance on the third phase is about 1.651 miles.