FM2234 project to impact homes, businesses
The Texas Department of Transportation will stage a Feb. 25 meeting to get public input on a proposed road project in Missouri City that could result in residents and businesses along part of FM 2234 losing part or all of their land.
The project would widen FM 2234, also called Texas Parkway, near and at the intersection with U.S. 90A. The work would provide an additional lane for left turns and another for right turns in each direction of the road, doubling the number of lanes carrying turning traffic. FM 2234 will continue to have two lanes for motorists traveling through the intersection.
TxDOT would also construct sidewalks along both sides of the expanded roadway.
The main goal is to provide better traffic flow between FM 2234 and the highway, said Scott Elmer, assistant city manager for Missouri City.
Most drivers on FM 2234 don’t continue on that road beyond the intersection but turn onto the highway.
Projections show that TxDOT, which maintains FM 2234, would need to purchase property along the west side of the road for the expansion, displacing four businesses and 13 residences, department pub- lic information officer Deidrea George said.
The project is in preliminary stages and TxDOT won’t acquire property until after public feedback and mandatory environmental studies, George said.
TxDOT will announce which properties would be affected at the planned meeting, scheduled from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Missouri City Com-
munity Center, 1522 Texas Parkway, George said.
The meeting will not have a formal presentation, but representatives from TxDOT’s Fort Bendarea office and the projects development office will have information about the project and gather public feedback at the meeting through one-on-one conversations and written comments.
March 10 is the deadline to submit comments about the project. Comments may be emailed to HOUPIOWebMail@txdot.gov or mailed to the Director of Project Development, TxDOT Houston District Office, P.O. Box 1386, Houston, Texas 77251-1386.
The average speed going through the intersection is 22 mph, according to Elmer.
“Considering that the speed limit on (FM 2234) is 35 miles per hour, that’s not too bad,” Elmer said.
As he drove through the intersection at about 9:30 a.m. on a weekday, Fort Bend County Precinct 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage said he didn’t think the intersection was a problem. Prestage’s office is on FM2234, about a block away from the intersection.
“You have your typical commuter traffic in the morning,” said Prestage, who is not involved with the project.
But a TxDOT traffic analysis found the aver- age speed limit of 22 mph would go down to 6 mph by 2040 if an expansion doesn’t occur, George said. With the project, TxDOT predicts the average speed would be at 25 mph by that year.
In the afternoon, the intersection stacks up, Elmer said. Daily traffic averages 30,000 vehicles. The intersection’s level of service, which engineers commonly grade like school grades from A to F, is at aD.
Missouri City typically keeps its major intersections operating at a C or better, Elmer said.
“Every car can expect about 24 to 26 seconds of delay,” Elmer said. “And you add that up by the number of cars at the intersection, that’s a lot of lost time and productivity for folks.”
The project, estimated to cost about $18 million, is not yet funded and TxDOT does not have a timetable for the work, George said.
Missouri City contributed $770,000 for the proposed project in 1997. TxDOT has been planning to expand FM 2234 since the 1990s.
Missouri City would not have to contribute additional funding to the expansion, Elmer said.
U.S. 90A is a raised road. FM2234 is at ground level, and cars drive under the highway. This would stay the same under the proposed project.
After the meeting, Tx- DOT will take feedback into account and present its plan to City Council, which will consider a resolution on the project.
The agency doesn’t have to abide by the resolution, but typically TxDOT doesn’t go ahead with local projects unless there is community support, Elmer said.
“I cannot speak for my city council, but I can tell you as a former city engineer and a professional engineer, I think it’s a plus for the city,” Elmer said.