HOUSTON – There are a lot of changes and projects coming to Houston roads.
Here is what you can expect:
Toll Road News
Slowly but surely ,toll roads are being converted to all-electronic, which means that cash lanes are going to be a thing of the past.
You're familiar with an EZ Tag - the mounted stickers on a windshield that make for an uninterrupted drive - but if you prefer to pay with cash and get the EZ Tag discounted rate, there is a new toll sticker
It's called BancPass.
The process is simple. Buy a reloadable card at places like H-E-B, CVS and Costco, put whatever amount you want on it and reload it when necessary.
However, it’s important to note that it will cost you $2 every time you add money to the card.
Also, toll rates will not be increasing this year.
One more tip, as you hit the roads for that summer road trip, you'll be happy to know that your EZ Tag can now take you throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
Road Construction Updates
Relief for drivers in Tomball is on the horizon. Coming in the 2019 winter, direct ramps will link the Grand Parkway with Highway 249.
Construction is underway for a new section of the Grand Parkway from the 59 Eastex in the New Caney/Porter area all the way down to Baytown. This stretch should open in the spring of 2022.
The final section of the Grand Parkway will include Fort Bend, Brazoria and Galveston counties.
However, those segments are a ways off, as they still have to be assigned to contractors.
Drivers coming in from Spring and The Woodlands are getting a faster way into downtown.
The Collingsworth overpass is already completed. It is part of the new Hardy Connector that will go from 610 all the way into downtown. It is expected to open at the end of 2022.
On the east side, drivers can expect growing pains with roadwork on the Beltway from 45 the Gulf Freeway to 225.
When it is finished in the summer of 2021, there will be four lanes in each direction.
There are also plans to add five new ramps connecting 225 to the Beltway. Pack your patience a little longer, because construction on that won’t begin until fall of 2021.
Some good news is this summer, construction will wrap up on the South Beltway from 288 to I-45 south, with four lanes in each direction.