The 2021 update of the plan includes the contested Woodtrace Boulevard project.

CONROE, TX — Montgomery County Commissioners approved the 2021 Montgomery County Thoroughfare Plan on Tuesday.

Last updated in 2016, the plan was originally scheduled for an update in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the process to 2021. The plan is a map for potential road projects and is used for planning purposes. The inclusion of any roads in the plan does not mean they will be built. Notable changes from 2016 include the removal of three controversial potential extensions: Woodlands Parkway, Branch Crossing and Gosling Road.

The plan was open for public comment from late May to early June and was presented to Montgomery County Commissioners Court at its July 13 meeting.

The Woodlands Township Board of Directors passed a resolution during a June 2 special meeting and submitted it as a public comment on the plan. The board supported the removal of the three extensions, but opposed several other aspects of the plan, most notably the replacement for the Woodlands Parkway extension.

The 2021 Major Thoroughfare Plan removed the proposed extension from Highway 249 to the intersection of Woodlands Parkway and FM 2978 and drew another potential extension that connects to FM 2978 at Mansions Way, roughly a quarter mile south of Woodlands Parkway. The new extension is outside the boundaries of The Woodlands.

The Woodlands Township Board of Directors still has concerns about how the updated version of the extension will affect traffic flow in The Woodlands.

“If you look at Mansions Way, it terminates into an apartment complex,” Board Chairman Gordy Bunch said at the June 2 meeting. “If you're going to have a thoroughfare terminate into an apartment complex, where are those folks going to go? They're going to have to go north or south, and if their targeted destination is to the east, they're still going to go up to Woodlands Parkway.”

The Westwood Magnolia Parkway Improvement District announced in April that it was funding the $8 million extension, which will be called Woodtrace Boulevard.

At Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting, Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack said he’s heard chatter from people in his precinct about the possibility of being able to block a potential extension if the township was to incorporate into the City of The Woodlands and asked Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley for clarification.

“That’s not possible,” Riley said. “No part of the extension is in the boundaries of The Woodlands.”

For a map of the 2021 Major Thoroughfare Plan, click here.

Montgomery County Commissioners Court