Progress on the US 290/Hempstead Corridor project will depend heavily on the availability of funding sources. The project consists of reconstructing the IH 610/US 290 interchange, widening US 290, and the construction of a toll road along Hempstead Road. Established in 2006, the project attempts to address the rapid growth in population in northwest Houston and its impact on traffic along US 290, the Northwest Freeway.

The project is currently awaiting final approval of its Environmental Impact Statement from the Federal Highway Administration, which should come sometime this summer.

The timelines for starting construction have varied during the course of the preliminary studies and are now extended as far as 2021. Proposition 12 bonds, approved by the voters last November, have pumped enough funds into the project to get Phase I started. TxDOT says the $314.6 million awarded the project "will advance planning, design, right of way acquisition and construction activities on several segments of the IH 610/US 290 Interchange." The funding, as large as it is, will only be enough to complete these segments and will not be applied to the next phase of US 290 reconstruction. The receipt of the funds means that the work on the interchange can begin a year earlier than its projected timeline.

Specifically, work on Phase I will include construction of direct connectors taking motorists who are inbound on US 290 and westbound on IH 610 North Loop to IH 10; reconstruction of the IH 610 North Loop between West T.C. Jester and Ella Blvd; construction on the IH 610 main lane bridges over White Oak Bayou; reconstruction of the IH 610 West Loop northbound and southbound main lanes between IH 10 and West 18th Street; the IH 610 southbound frontage road between W.18th Street and Old Katy Road; and the US 290 inbound frontage road between W. 34th Street and IH 610. TxDOT states, "Construction letting for the US 290/IH 610 interchange will now be advanced to May 2011 in accordance with Proposition 12 stipulations. These improvements will result in a combined peak travel time savings of approximately $30 million per year for IH 10, IH 610, and US 290." The first segment scheduled for improvement will be a portion of the North Loop between West T.C. Jester and Ella Boulevard.

This year TxDOT was allocated Urban Mobility funding for Phase II which includes the section of US 290 from West 34th to Beltway 8. However, TxDOT says that the earliest letting would be after the completion of Phase I in 2014, or more likely in 2016. Phase III beyond the Beltway "is heavily dependent upon funding opportunities" and "is programmed to let as late as FY 2021," according to TxDOT. They are presently working on improvements along the frontage roads of US 290 to mitigate congestion, but it is not related to the main reconstruction project.

The timeline for the start of construction on the Hempstead Toll Road is uncertain at this time. The Harris County Toll Road Authority is in charge of building the tollway and has given no dates. It is "assessing its long-term mobility goals and financial projection to determine application construction phasing," TxDOT says. It is anticipated that work on the North Loop will begin before the Hempstead Toll Road construction starts.

For more information visit www.my290.com.