Meyers: ‘Essential’ road project delayed
County commissioner negotiating with business, landowners for right of way
Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers says a badly needed project to extend Katy’s Cane Island Parkway to FM 1463 has been delayed.
Meyers is negotiating with Hilcorp Energy Co. to move an oil-and-gas drill site and pipeline in the area because it is in the way of the planned route.
The extension, which would be near the Firethorne community, would also pass through three properties, two of which contain houses. The county and owners are far apart in negotiations, Meyers said.
Now, he is hoping to complete the road by the end of 2017.
“It’s essential that we have another connection to Interstate 10 because the traffic on (FM 1463) is getting horrendous,” Meyers said.
In 2015, 16,000 cars traveled FM 1463 daily, Meyers said, citing information from the Texas Department of Transportation.
The county needs to purchase small parts of each property that don’t include the houses. One owner refuses to sell any land and another has not accepted an undisclosed offer by the county, Meyers
said. The third is seeking $1 million more than the county’s offer.
The three property owners could not be reached for comment. They have asked the county to move the planned route west, according to Meyers, but he said that doing so would take the road into other properties and multiple wetland areas.
The county will be forced to use eminent domain, a legal process that gives governments the right to forcefully acquire private property for public use while providing compensation.
“Nobody wants a major road next to their house; so I totally understand. That’s why we tried to negotiate,” Meyers said. “They’re angry with me. But I still have to provide some kind of relief for (FM 1463), and this is the only alternative I can come up with.”
The county and Hilcorp are discussing where the drill site and pipelines should be relocated. Meyers said he’s confident an agreement will be reached.
Justin Furnance, director of external affairs at Hilcorp, said in an email that the company has no comment on the issue.
The extension will cost more than $5 million to build, of which the county will pay an approximate $3.5 million from 2013 bond funds. Other cash will come from the city of Katy, which will contribute $1 million because it shares a portion of the proposed route for the road, and area developer Bruce Grover.
Other delays have hindered the project. The county spent six months resolving how to narrow the road’s footprint over wetlands.
When completed, the extension will extend almost 1 miles in two lanes north from FM 1463 to the Cane Island overpass on the interstate, which feeds into Katy’s new masterplanned community, Cane Island. Meyers said the road will eventually include four lanes.
The overpass opened in March following months of its own delays as the city awaited approval from the state for the project and dealt with inclement weather, City Administrator Byron Hebert said.
The 1,100-acre Cane Island development had a grand opening in March. It includes a three-acre entrance lake with seven 30-foot waterfalls and an amenities village that has a two-story fitness center, yoga studio, pools, conservatory, theater and café. It will hold more than 2,000 homes when completed.
The planned county road “should help with mobility,” Hebert said. “It would also provide a way for commuters to go through Cane Island.”