Local News

I-45 to U.S. 59 Grand Parkway Opens in Houston Metro Area

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Tony Maples Photography

 

While the connecting segments of I-45 to U.S. 59 were meant to open at the end of last year, the Grand Parkway opened in the Houston metro area.

Those in Spring and The Woodlands are finally breathing a sigh of relief now that this section of the Grand Parkway is finally open, connecting I-45 to U.S. 59. The tollway, which according to the Houston Chronicle, is a “12.5-mile segment [that] will radically reduce the time it will take for drivers in The Woodlands and other northern Houston suburbs to access U.S. 59,” which will also unclog local streets that acted as connecting points.

This is the second opening in the Grand Parkway this year, and it will eventually be a tollway circulating the Houston metro area. It’s hard, however, to determine the success of the Grand Parkway because the Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT, hasn’t yet released any statistics or data for the new sections of road.

The total “segments, built at a cost of $1.1 billion, were initially expected to open together by the end of last year…Construction, meanwhile, frayed nerves of local drivers.” However, there are expectations in place to complete the next portions of the road until 2021.