Highway 242 Flyovers Are Coming In The Woodlands

[lockmat]

these are need so bad. weird how they're gonna be tolled during peak hours though; hope it's not much. maybe .50?

Selected quotes...

The project includes two flyovers to ease congestion at Texas 242 and Interstate 45, with future plans to add a third, Chance said.

The flyovers, which will collect tolls during peak hours, will provide an alternative to motorists at the intersection. The intersection will continue to offer ground level turning options to motorists at no cost.

One flyover will go from the northbound lanes on Interstate 45 to Texas 242 westbound. It is expected to begin about 1,500 feet from the intersection and exit before Lone Star College. It will bypass two lights on Texas 242, Chance said.

The second flyover will go from 242 westbound to I-45 southbound. The flyover will begin near St. Luke’s Way and exit onto the interstate about 1,500 feet south of the intersection.

A third ramp is in the planning stages, but is not included in the current project. It would begin on Interstate 45 northbound and exit to Texas 242 eastbound, Chance said.

The flyovers are the fifth and final road projects funded through the state's "pass-through toll" program, where the county pays for the cost of the roads upfront and is then reimbursed by the state based on the number of vehicles using the road.

Motorists will be charged a premium fee to use the flyovers during peak hours, while minimal or free use expected during off-peak hours.

http://www.ultimatewoodlands.com/2010/02/work-starts-texas-242-flyovers

[LTAWACS]

The more flyovers... the better...

True urbanists will know the truth.

[wxman]

It appears there is a fly over coming for Research Forest too. Did I read that correctly?

[lockmat]

It appears there is a fly over coming for Research Forest too. Did I read that correctly?

Where, in the article I posted? I could not find anything about research forest.

[wxman]

Where, in the article I posted? I could not find anything about research forest.

Construction on Montgomery County’s final pass-through road project is scheduled to start this week.

Although the three direct connectors designed to improve traffic flow at the intersection of Texas 242 and Interstate 45 have yet to officially exit the drafting table, work is moving forward on new access ramps that will be built along I-45 between Texas 242 and Research Forest.

The ramps’ placement is the reverse of their current locations, said Jennie Taraborelli, of Pate Transportation Partners, which manages the Montgomery County Transportation Program. For example, the new I-45 southbound on-ramp will be placed almost at Research Forest. The existing on-ramp is just south of St. Luke’s Community Hospital — a distance of approximately 3,000 feet.

“That will improve traffic flow and help in the connectivity of the proposed Texas 242/I-45 direct connectors,” she said.

The northbound ramps will facilitate traffic and access to the westbound Texas 242 direct connector, as well as enhance access to the Conroe Independent School District’s Woodforest Bank Stadium.

Because of the new ramps’ location, that construction can occur before the existing ramps are removed, Taraborelli said.

The $3.2 million project was awarded to Houston-based South Coast Construction Inc. The contract calls for 170 working days, Monday through Friday, over approximately six months.

“The public should see a lot of activity this week,” she said.

The new access ramps also call for the creation of “auxiliary” lanes that provide an additional 2,000 to 2,500 feet in “weaving” room, Taraborelli said.

“It will give drivers more distance and an extra lane to work their way in and out of traffic,” she said.

During a meeting Monday morning, county commissioners are scheduled to reimburse Entergy Texas more than $2.1 million for the relocation of transmission and distribution lines in the vicinity of Texas 242 and I-45. The relocation created room for the installation of the direct connectors at that intersection.

Unlike the other pass-through projects in the county, the direct connectors — which are to be built for an estimated $25 million — will be paid through actual toll fees. The other pass-through projects were funded through bonds approved by county voters in 2005 and will be repaid by the Texas Department of Transportation at 7 cents per mile for each vehicle that travels the completed roads.

Taraborelli expects work to begin on the direct connectors before the end of this year, even though a date for a public hearing on environmental documents has not been scheduled by the Federal Highway Administration.

[wxman]

I see they have started construction on the flyovers but man did they start a good ways south of 242. Does anybody know why they started so far back? Is this going to look like the Beltway where a good chunk of the ramp is elevated before you reach the actual flyover itself?

[lockmat]

I see they have started construction on the flyovers but man did they start a good ways south of 242. Does anybody know why they started so far back? Is this going to look like the Beltway where a good chunk of the ramp is elevated before you reach the actual flyover itself?

I'm not positive but I think the construction that's starting so far back is for the exit ramps on to the feeder? I'll have to go back and look at the article, I think it says there.