State Highway 249

Texas State Highway 249

Traveling 26.76 miles northwest from IH 45 and Hidden Valley in Houston to FM 149 and FM 1774 at Pinehurst, SH 249 varies between a commercial arterial, freeway and toll road. The southernmost section of SH 249 follows Mount Houston Road west from the North Freeway to Tomball Parkway. Tomball Parkway leads the route northwest to Beltway 8 and the Sam Houston Tollway, where SH 249 upgrades to a freeway. The freeway section of Tomball Parkway passes through the Willbrook neighborhood of Houston en route to Spring Cypress Road.

The SH 249 freeway along Tomball Parkway transitions to Tomball Tollway beyond Northpointe. Operated by the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA), the tollway bypasses the city of Tomball to the west, concluding at the northern merge of SH 249 and SH 249 Business after FM 2920 (Main Street). Phase I of Tomball Parkway opened to traffic following a ribbon cutting ceremony and news conference on April 12, 2015. With six overall lanes, the six mile roadway was constructed within the SH 249 corridor at a cost of $155 million. Work started on the all electronic toll (AET) road in October 2013.1

SH 249 (Tomball Tollway) Phase II lengthens the toll road north from FM 2920 to the Harris County line at Spring Creek. Funded by Harris County, construction for the $130 million extension started in March 2017 and runs through December 2019.2

The Texas (TX) State Highway (SH) 249 Extension Project, under the direction of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), further lengthens SH 249 northwest into Montgomery and Grimes Counties. 14 miles of toll road with intermittent frontage roads (Segment 1A/1B) are being built from the end of SH 249 at FM 1774 at Pinehurst to FM 1774 at the city of Todd Mission. An additional ten miles of roadway (Segment 2) are being constructed from Todd Mission to SH 104 between Plantersville and Navasota. This two-lane, non-tolled corridor will be constructed within a 400-foot right of way.

Earthmoving work on Segment 1 started in March 2018, followed by construction of the roadway, bridges, drainage. Segment 1 is scheduled for completion in Spring 2021. Construction for Segment 2 commenced in November 2018 with land clearing. Work here runs until late 2022.3

SH 249 Business

SH 249 was formerly FM 149 from IH 45 to FM 1774. FM 149 was upgraded to a state highway in 1989. SH 249 Business (BS 249-B) was established by the Transportation Planning and Programming Division in 2003 along a 2.46 mile section of Tomball Parkway in the city of Tomball. Business 249-B was designated when SH 249 was relocated onto the bypass alignment to the west in 2003.

References:

  1. "Tomball Tollway set for April 12 opening." Tomball Potpourri, The (TX), April 8, 2015.
  2. 249 (Tomball Tollway) Phase II. Harris County Toll Road Authority web site. Page accessed July 29, 2019.
  3. Project Status | TX SH 249 Extension Project. TxDOT web site. Page accessed July 29, 2019.

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Page Updated Monday July 29, 2019.