The Grand Parkway – Texas Real Estate
Outlined as the longest beltway in the country once completed, State Highway 99 (more popularly known as the Grand Parkway) is an important road in the Greater Houston metropolitan area. 46.3 miles long, this highway has 11 segments, some of which are still under construction while others are already fully-functional.
The project’s first segment was opened north of Interstate 10 in 1994. It stretches from Interstate 69/US 59 up to Interstate 10/US 90. The next segment to open did not come until 2008. Segment I-2 opened from Interstate 10 to Highway 146 after five years of construction. Toll collection started on 2011.
Segment E opened in 2013 and by the end of 2015, a total of 3 new sections of Grand Parkway are expected to reach completion. These new segments are located on Interstate 45, near Spring and The Woodlands. While this area of the Grand Parkway has not been opened yet, frontage roads can be found below the main lines of the highway.
Springs and The Woodlands
“The 13 miles between I-45 and Hwy. 59 is a contract held by 
Zachry-Odebrecht and they have a few days of play but it’s going to be around the end of October, early November (when it’s expected to be complete,)” reports David Gornet, the Grand Parkway Association Executive Director.
Once the construction of Section G is finished, the travel time from the Lake Houston area to The Woodlands will be no more than 30 minutes. This decrease will produce a positive effect on the 20,000 people at the new ExxonMobil campus at Spring. There are also thousands of employees in The Woodlands area working at Anadarko Petroleum Corporation that would appreciate this completion.
Residents and frequent visitors of the areas affected by the project definitely go through certain sacrifices during construction. However, a much better quality of living awaits once the Grand Parkway’s new sectors open up by the beginning of 2016.
