Northwest Houston

Half of the $2.8 billion total projected cost for improvements to the Hwy. 290 corridor is still unfunded. In October 2011, the Houston-Galveston Area Council approved $6.5 million in Proposition 12 bond funding. A portion of this is being used for the small projects.

“The reality is 290 is a nightmare,” said Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack. “For years, we have been trying to get more attention by the state and federal government and I believe we are getting close to getting these projects done. Some are already underway.”

Construction at the I-610 and Hwy. 290 interchange started last summer and are estimated to be completed by 2016. To widen the portion of Hwy. 290 near Beltway 8, TxDOT needs to relocate existing columns. That part will be put out for bid in the summer with construction to start in late 2012 and should end by mid-2016.

TxDOT is already in the process of connecting Hwy. 290 to I-10 beginning at the Hwy. 290/ I-610 interchange. This will allow drivers going eastbound on Hwy. 290 and those travelling westbound on the North Loop to directly connect to I-10 via ramp. TxDOT hopes to have the interchange completed by 2015 and a ramp for drivers going the opposite directions on Hwy. 290 and I-610 completed by 2016.

“Traffic can be bad there, especially in the morning when people have to get on the little part of the I-610 west loop going south when there is only about a mile and a half between 290 and I-10,” said Mike Zientek, senior public involvement representative for the U.S. 290 Program. “This will separate that traffic, giving the people that want to go to I-10 their own road and they won’t have to compete with the 610 drivers anymore.”

The next phase, scheduled to begin in 2018, involves the reconstruction and widening of Hwy. 290 from Pinemont to 34th Street to four lanes.

Interim projects

Many of the Hwy. 290 traffic system management projects will start after summer this year and will add modifications like combined left-turn lanes, u-turn lanes and auxiliary lanes, which are designated lanes between highway entrances and exits that cut down on traffic and allow easier movement between lanes.