Harris-Montgomery County At A Crossroads On Texas 249

TOMBALL, TX — The recent actions in Montgomery County regarding the future of Texas 249 as a tollway, is raising concerns with some in Harris County.

During a recent luncheon in Tomball, John Tyler an engineer with the Harris County Toll Road Authority, said the county is looking at contingency options, should Montgomery County back out of its deal with Harris County.

“In our agreement with Montgomery County that we executed about two years ago…, one of the things that’s in that agreement is that it allow [Harris County] — if they don’t start construction by September — we’ll be able to go in and build with access to [the tollway] on the southbound side, so we can at least have traffic use our tollway,” Tyler said.

The 249 tollway project — a tollway project designed to provide a north-south corridor between Houston and College Station — was first envisioned in the 1960s, but didn’t begin to take shape until 2011, when representatives from Tomball in Harris County, Montgomery County, and Grimes County created the 249 Partnership.

Working behind the scenes was Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle and Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal, who was a county commissioner in 2011 when the partnership formed.

The 249 Partnership helped lead the charge to build the first phase of the Tomball Tollway with the first phase between Spring-Cypress Road in Spring FM 2920 in Tomball in 2015, and launch phase two to Spring Creek to the Montgomery County line in 2017.

The first phase of the Montgomery County portion of the project was to begin this year, but opponents of the tollway have vowed to petition for a vote.

In April, Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack said in a press release that he would push for a public vote on the sale of revenue bonds to fund the toll road.

Noack, who has long been an opponent of the toll road, has pushed for the road be built without tolls, and sought support from others on the Montgomery County Commissioners Court to amend or terminate the contract with the Texas Department of Transportation.

The Woodlands Township passed a resolution on April 27 encouraging Montgomery County and the Texas Department of Transportation to seek voter approval before constructing new toll roads.

"It is clear The Woodlands residents are fed up with being overtaxed simply to drive in our region," said Township Chairman Gordy Bunch.

While representatives in Montgomery County maybe be taking a second look at the deal, leaders in Harris County are hoping the previous deal remains in place.

“Montgomery County has not honored their end of the deal,” Cagle said. “We have a deal with them and if they decide to vote...we will have to adjust.”

Cagle said Harris County went into this deal with the idea that Montgomery County fully supported the project, and have actually gone beyond the scope of the deal on this, and several other road projects involving both entities.

“To an extent, we are building the bridges across [Spring Creek] with the understanding that they would do their part on their side to make sure this project works,” Cagle added. “If they change their minds...it would be somewhat unfair to the taxpayers of Harris County.”

The tollway in Harris and part of Montgomery County is projected to be completed by mid 2019.

RELATED STORIES:

• County Commissioner Pushing For Petition On 249 Tollway
  
• ICYMI: Woodlands Township Approves Anti-249 Tollway Resolution

Image: Bryan Kirk/Houston Area Patch Editor

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