Houston: Builder selected for Grand Parkway F-G

[Perfxion]

As I drive on 2920 every day, I really have a hard time seeing this done in 6 to 8 weeks, still a dirt pile.

[Chris]

I posted photos taken today

http://houstonfreeways.com/photos/grand-parkway-october-2015

Great photos. I don't think there's any interchange in Europe that looks like this:

[Grzrd]

It looks like the westmost section, from US 290 to SH 249, could be ready for opening soon. From SH 249 eastward to US 59 there is still a lot of work to be done, so I'm thinking those sections will open in spring and summer of 2016.

As I drive on 2920 every day, I really have a hard time seeing this done in 6 to 8 weeks, still a dirt pile.

This October 20 article reports the builder as saying that it is "currently on target" to complete sections F1, F2 and G from US 290 to I-69 in the fourth quarter of 2015:

Three sections of the Grand Parkway in north Houston are on track to be completed by the end of this year.
Members of the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce Mobility and Transportation Committee received an update on the progress of the Grand Parkway segments connecting U.S. 290 to Interstate 69.
"There are a lot of people who are interested in the course of the Grand Parkway," said Bruce Hillegeist, president of the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce.
Ibette Cavasos, public information officer for Zachry-Odebrecht Parkway Builders, which is building segments F1, F2 and G between U.S. 290 in Cypress to I-69 north of Kingwood, said the three segments are on track to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015.
"It is currently on target," she said ....
construction on segments F1, F2 and G began in June 2013 with a target completion before the end of the year.
"How often do you get seven counties working together...to implement a project like this," said Eddie Sanchez, TxDOT engineer for the Houston District.
The Grand Parkway was a significant driver in luring Exxon Mobil to relocate its headquarters from Fairfax, Virginia, and move 20,000 employees and their families to a new headquarters off I-45 and the Grand Parkway.
The new headquarters opened in March.

It should be interesting to see if they can actually complete the three sections by December 31.

[Chris]

Google Earth has new imagery of most of the Greater Houston area, dated August 1st, 2015. It also shows Grand Parkway under construction. It is not yet available in Google Maps. You can also see the finished Exxon campus, it's huge.

At SH 249 / Tomball Parkway


At I-45


At I-69

[nolia_boi504]

Thanks for the update! The latest I get on Google Earth Pro is May 31, 2015

Nexus 5

[FreewayDan]

Some signage for the Grand Parkway has been installed at southbound I-45 in Spring:
Southbound IH 45 at future exit for westbound Grand Parkway (110515) by Daniel, on Flickr

[TXtoNJ]

Drove around the F-2 corridor yesterday. I'd be very surprised if it's ready to open before February at the earliest.

[The Ghostbuster]

Does the Grand Parkway have exit numbers? If not, I think it should.

[txstateends]

Does the Grand Parkway have exit numbers? If not, I think it should.

AFAIK, no.  None of the BGS pix I've seen have any.  I know none of the toll roads in north TX have numbered exits.

[dfwmapper]

This has probably been covered before, but I don't think anything lower than a US highway has numbered exits in Texas, and US routes are haphazard at best (US 75, US 82 in Sherman, and US 54 in El Paso have them, but US 83/84 in Abilene, US 82 in Lubbock, and US 87/287 in Amarillo don't).

[The Ghostbuster]

What a shame. I prefer my exits numbered.

[MaxConcrete]

It is now official: The Grand Parkway sections F and G will not open until the first quarter of 2016. Of course, those of us who viewed the progress recently already knew that.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/transportation/article/Grand-Parkway-progress-takes-a-hit-won-t-open-6659176.php?cmpid=gsa-chron-result

Grand Parkway won't open until 2016
Heavy rains earlier this year blamed for construction delays on freeway

By Dug Begley
November 26, 2015 Updated: November 27, 2015 8:34am

  Builders of the next major stretch of the enormous third freeway loop, from U.S. 290 to U.S. 59 northwest of Houston, confirmed that heavy rains earlier this year washed away any hope of the new segments opening in 2015.

"We had 60-to-90 days where we pumped water out," said Joe Wilson, construction manager for Zachry-Odebrecht Parkway Builders, the joint venture constructing the tollway.

For now, the four lanes and entrance ramps are the domain only of passing dump trucks and pickups headed to one of the dozens of job sites spread across the 38 miles of construction zone.

Despite "a great September and really strong October," Wilson said crews couldn't meet the end of the year goal.

Officials are now focused on opening in the first quarter of 2016, though project spokeswoman Ibette Cavazos said details of which segments will open when are still being worked out.

For safety and to expedite work, however, it's likely that the miles of finished road will wait for the final touches before motorists begin using the tollway. Wilson said the $1.1 billion job has reached a point where weather is unlikely to affect it, and crews can make quick work of tasks like painting lane markers and hanging signs.

 

[nolia_boi504]

Grand Parkway won't open until 2016

Edit: Full article:
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/transportation/article/Grand-Parkway-progress-takes-a-hit-won-t-open-6659176.php?t=c4f02cec26438d9cbb&cmpid=fb-premium

No surprise there from MaxConcretes previous posts indicating the segments won't be completed this year. I wonder why all articles prior to this one kept quoting a 4Q 2015 date.

Nexus 5

[Chris]

The Houston Chronicle now reports that F1-2 (US 290 to I-45) may open this month after all: http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/spring/news/article/Grand-Parkway-segments-ready-to-open-6673350.php

Officials working on the Grand Parkway project indicated that segments F1 and F2, which link U.S. 290 to Interstate 45 in Spring, will make the completion deadline of Dec. 31 but segment G, which connects south of The Woodlands at I-45 and continues northeast of Kingwood to link with Interstate 69, is running behind schedule.

[codyg1985]

This has probably been covered before, but I don't think anything lower than a US highway has numbered exits in Texas, and US routes are haphazard at best (US 75, US 82 in Sherman, and US 54 in El Paso have them, but US 83/84 in Abilene, US 82 in Lubbock, and US 87/287 in Amarillo don't).

TX 130 around Austin has exit numbers.

[FreewayDan]

The Houston Chronicle now reports that F1-2 (US 290 to I-45) may open this month after all: http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/spring/news/article/Grand-Parkway-segments-ready-to-open-6673350.php

Officials working on the Grand Parkway project indicated that segments F1 and F2, which link U.S. 290 to Interstate 45 in Spring, will make the completion deadline of Dec. 31 but segment G, which connects south of The Woodlands at I-45 and continues northeast of Kingwood to link with Interstate 69, is running behind schedule.

Now TxDOT says the Grand Parkway from US 290 to I-69/US 59 North will be finished in the first quarter of 2016:
http://communityimpact.com/2015/12/28/grand-parkway-segments-f-1-f-2-and-g-delayed-until-first-quarter-2016/

[nolia_boi504]

I just found a site called NearMap (link below), which has a Google Maps Satellite view-like interface. The images are much newer than Google and update more frequently. Most of the Houston metro area has imagery dated mid-November 2015, so you can see a lot of the recent progress, especially for Grand Pkwy. As an added bonus, it lets you zoom in MUCH closer than Google Maps for more detailed view of the construction.

The downside is that you have to register with a corporate email address (free) -- I used my work email. Also, the free accounts have a 200mb per month viewing limit. I burned through that within half hour of browsing around. I'll have to wait until Feb 1 now . Regardless, pretty cool stuff!

Houston isn't listed as a "big city" so it only gets updates 3x per year (far better than Google). However, Dallas for some reason is listed as a big city, so they get updates 6x per year (see the Capture Plan PDF in the drop down for the various dated imagery at the top center of the map).

I hope Google uses this data and updates more frequently with this high res imagery.

http://maps.us.nearmap.com/

[nolia_boi504]

Grand Parkway opening nears

"The tollway segments between U.S. 290 and Interstate 45 are expected to open to drivers in the first week of February..."

http://www.chron.com/news/transportation/article/Grand-Parkway-opening-nears-6753896.php#photo-9017193

[Chris]

Segment F (US 290 to I-45) is planned to open to traffic on February 8, and is tolled from Feb. 15th.

http://abc13.com/1178690/

[MaxConcrete]

Photos taken Saturday 1/30. Construction crews were fully deployed all over section F-2, working to get it ready for opening (and also enjoying the beautiful weather).


Looking east at FM 2920. Crews were installing lane striping at this location. A wire rope median barrier is being used.
https://1968d90e831cd27d2017897e0c81e9a12852eb10.googledrive.com/host/0B4gwdXQk1LyieHZHSTBqd0VJSnc/aaroads/20160130-0004.jpg


Looking east with the Hardy Toll road interchange ahead. This is section G, which will not be ready for opening on Feb. 8. There's still a lot of work to do, such as installing guardrails and the wire rope barrier. I'm thinking that all effort is focused on section F-2 right now, and they'll resume on section G when section F-2 is ready.
https://1968d90e831cd27d2017897e0c81e9a12852eb10.googledrive.com/host/0B4gwdXQk1LyieHZHSTBqd0VJSnc/aaroads/20160130-0011.jpg


Interchange at the Hardy Toll Road. The Hardy Toll Road was completely closed this weekend for work at the interchange.
https://1968d90e831cd27d2017897e0c81e9a12852eb10.googledrive.com/host/0B4gwdXQk1LyieHZHSTBqd0VJSnc/aaroads/20160130-0018.jpg


Looking east along the Grand Parkway
https://1968d90e831cd27d2017897e0c81e9a12852eb10.googledrive.com/host/0B4gwdXQk1LyieHZHSTBqd0VJSnc/aaroads/20160130-0025.jpg
 
 

[Chris]

Do you think four lanes is sufficient in the short term? Parts of Beltway 8 were widened to eight lanes within 15 years of opening.

[TXtoNJ]

Do you think four lanes is sufficient in the short term? Parts of Beltway 8 were widened to eight lanes within 15 years of opening.

In the Cypress-Spring corridor, probably not, but it's a bit of a political miracle (thanks, XOM) that this even got built in the first place.

[FreewayDan]

Segment F (US 290 to I-45) is planned to open to traffic on February 8, and is tolled from Feb. 15th.

http://abc13.com/1178690/

TxDOT has now opened the Grand Parkway from US 290 to I-45 North; it was originally going to be on Monday (2/8), then was moved to 5 a.m. on Saturday (2/6), but it is now opened.
http://abc13.com/traffic/new-section-of-grand-parkway-opens-early/1189244/

Here are some shots of new signs along I-45 North:
Northbound IH 45 - Right Lane Only for Hardy Toll Road and Spring Crossing Drive (011216) by Daniel, on Flickr
Northbound IH 45 at exit for Hardy Toll Road and Spring Crossing Drive (011216) by Daniel, on Flickr

Spring Crossing Drive has since been renamed Springwoods Village Parkway.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Springwoods+Village+Pkwy,+Spring,+TX/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x86473450ff9ac4e1:0x70477538453dae99?sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJnLPwn-LKAhVV82MKHTVyDjkQ8gEIMTAD

[MaxConcrete]

Driving tour of the newly opened section

http://houstonfreeways.com/photos/grand-parkway-section-f

[noelbotevera]

That spot doesn't really look developed....is this a fast growing area, or development hasn't reached out this far yet (if it's the former, then it makes sense why they left room for extra lanes on both sides of the freeway.)?