Roy Kent, Staff writer
U.S. Highway 90 stretches across the state of Texas. Proposals to widen the highway from Interstate Highway 10 to FM 1463 in Waller, Fort Bend and Harris counties will be presented from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, 2022, in the Katy High School cafeteria, 6331 Highway Blvd. in Katy.
Courtesy photoAnyone interested in learning more about the potential widening of U.S. Highway 90 through the region will have a chance to learn and present ideas at an upcoming public hearing.
The Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled a public meeting to present information on a proposal to widen U.S. Highway 90 from Interstate Highway 10 to FM 1463 in Waller, Fort Bend and Harris counties.
An in-person presentation will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, in the Katy High School cafeteria, 6331 Highway Blvd. in Katy.
A pre-recorded presentation will be posted on the TxDOT website at www.txdot.gov at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 12.
Members of the public may call 346-291-7719 to provide verbal testimony immediately following posting of the virtual public hearing presentation, from 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, through 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 29, to be a part of the official hearing record.
“The purpose of the proposed project is to improve mobility and safety within the project corridor,” TxDOT reported. “Increased development in the project area has created congestion and delays along U.S. 90 and at intersections. In addition, crash rates on this segment of U.S. 90 are higher than average crash rates on similar roadways in Texas, which results in potentially unsafe travel conditions (including those for pedestrians and bicyclists) and reduced mobility.”
According to TxDOT, the existing road is a two-lane “undivided roadway with one 12-foot-wide travel lane in each direction, 8 foot-wide shoulders on the outside of the travel lanes, and open ditches for drainage. In the City of Brookshire, U.S. 90 widens to four 11.5-foot-wide travel lanes with partial curb and gutter drainage.”
Two roadway sections have been proposed for U.S. 90.
A proposal from Donigan Road to Koomey Road would be a “four-lane roadway constructed within the existing right-of-way that would include two 12-foot-wide main lanes in each direction separated by an 18-foot-wide raised median. Bicycle and pedestrian facilities would include a 12-foot-wide shared use path along the north side, and a 10-foot-wide shared use path along the south side.”
A second proposal “from Kenney Street to FM 1463 would require 20 feet of additional (right-of-way) along the south side of the existing facility to create a four-lane roadway that would include two 12-foot-wide main lanes in each direction separated by an 18-foot-wide raised median. Bicycle and pedestrian facilities would include a 12-foot-wide shared use path on the north side, and a 10-foot-wide shared use path on the south side.”
The proposed project would involve construction in wetlands and would involve an action in a floodplain. The proposed project would — subject to final design considerations — require approximately 33.2 acres of additional right-of-way and potentially displace three commercial facilities.
For more information on the project, go to https://tinyurl.com/3y79p46c.
rkent@hcnonline.com