|
US Vote Smart |
| Road Bond | |
|---|---|
 Montgomery County |
Road Bond
proposition
The issuance of $280,000,000 road bonds and the levying of the tax in payment thereof
This measure would allow the county to issue an additional $280 million in bonds for road projects. The projects to be funded are largely a subset of the failed May 2015 proposal and are summarized in the following tables.
Precinct 1 (North County)
| May-15 | Nov-15 | Roadway | Limits | Length (mi) | Scope | Est. Cost ($mil) |
| x | x | FM 1097 | IH 45 to Blueberry Hill | 5 | Local part-acq in prelim engr & constuct - State Proj | 17 |
| x | x | Walden Rd. | Entrance to Emerson | 3 | Widen to include FTWLTL | 5 |
| x | x | Airport Perimeter Rd. | Access to S. Property | 1 | New Construction | 1 |
| x | x | Willis Loop Rd | FM 1097 to Old Montgomery | 0.3 | Participation in construction of FM 1097/IH 45 relief | 1 |
| x | x | Deison Parkway | FM 1484 to Airport Rd. | 1 | County Participation in new contruction | 1 |
| x | x | Walden Rd. | at Grand Harbor Blvd. | 0.1 | Intersection improvements for safety | 0.5 |
| x | x | Spring Branch Rd. | Pct. Line to Old Plantersville | 4 | Reclaim, widen from 22' - 24' | 5.5 |
| x | x | Calvary Rd. | SH 75 to end(Forest Rd. 234) | 6 | Reclaim, stabilize, in sections, replace drain struct | 5 |
| x | x | Shepard Hill Rd. | Calvary to IH45 | 4 | Reclaim, stabilize, in sections, replace drain struct | 5 |
| x | x | Lone Star Parkway | SH 105 E of Mont. To SH 105W | 4 | Reclaim, stabilize, safety apps. | 2.5 |
| x | x | Rogers Rd | Mt. Zion to City Limit | 4 | Reclaim, stabilize, widen | 4 |
| x | x | Bays Chapel Rd. | FM 149 to William Hoke Rd. | 5 | Reclaim, stabilize, in sections | 4 |
| x | x | Willis-Waukegan Rd. | Pct. Line to FM 1484 | 2.4 | Reclaim, stabilize, in sections, from 20' - 24' | 3 |
| x | x | Mt. Mariah Rd. | Old 105 to FM 1486 | 4 | Reclaim, stabilize, safety apps. | 3 |
| x | x | Longstreet | IH 45 to FM 1097 | 5 | Reclaim, stabilize, in sections, widen | 3 |
| x | x | Bois D'arc | Conroe City Limit to Lone Star Bend | 1.2 | Reclaim, stabilize, widen | 1.5 |
| x | x | Airport Entrance | Deison Pkwy to FSS Rd. | 0.5 | New Location entrance and drainage | 1 |
| x | x | Cude Cemetery Rd. | FM 830 to Lake Conroe | 1.5 | Reclaim, stablize, widen, drainage | 1 |
| x | Misc. S/D and local street repair | To be determined | N/A | Reclaim, stabilize, in sections, replace drain struct | 11.5 |
Precinct 1 will receive $64 million and has a nearly identical project list as for the May 2015 proposal, except for:
- The removal of $11.5 million for "miscellaneous" projects
- The reduction of estimated costs for the remaining projects of about $3.5 million
Precinct 2 (West County)
| May-15 | Nov-15 | Roadway | Length (mi) | Scope | Est. Cost ($mil) |
| x | x | Fish Creek Throughfare | 4.88 | Widen to 4 lanes; bridges | 17.3 |
| x | x | Magnolia Bypass | 5.49 | County share | 10 |
| x | Keenan Cutoff | 3 | Improvements for new school | 10 | |
| x | x | Nichols Sawmill Extension | 3.51 | Extension | 9.7 |
| x | x | Research Forest | 2.33 | Widen to 4 lanes | 8 |
| x | x | FM1774 Overpass | N/A | Prelimenary work prior to building overpass | 5 |
| x | x | SH 242 @ Gosling Rd. | Add Turn Lanes | 0.6 | |
| x | x | FM1488 @ Kuyendahl | Add Turn Lanes | 0.6 | |
| x | x | SH 242 @ Greenbridge Drive | Add Turn Lanes | 0.1 | |
| x | x | Old Hockley Rd | Rehab entire road | 0.8 | |
| x | x | Coe Loop | Rehab Decker Prairie to Lonesome Pine | 0.1 | |
| x | x | Decker Prairie Rosehill | Add turn lane at school | 0.3 | |
| x | x | Hardin Store | Shoulders and turn lanes | 0.2 | |
| x | x | Dobbin Huffsmith | Shoulders and turn lanes | 0.2 | |
| x | x | Nichols Sawmill | Add shoulder | 0.3 | |
| x | x | Pine Lake Road | Rehab entire road | 0.2 | |
| x | x | Old 105 | Rehab from FM105 to bridge | 0.2 | |
| x | x | Spring Branch Road | Rehab from FM 149 to Church | 0.2 | |
| x | x | Goodson Loop | Rehab from FM 249 to Terri lane | 0.2 | |
| x | Old Hempstead | Rehab from city limit to Ruel Lane | 3.9 | ||
| x | Honea Egypt | Rehab between bridge at Lake Creek, fault line | |||
| x | Roberts Cemetery | Rehab from Harris County line to Long Horn Ranch | |||
| x | Mail Route Road | Rehab entire road | |||
| x | Rabon Chapel | Rehab from Pine Lake to Capitol Hill Road | |||
| x | Woodlands Parkway Extension | 6.01 | 22 |
Precinct 2 will receive $64 million and has removed the controversial Woodlands Parkway Extension as well as roughly $3.9 million in other rehabilitation projects. It has also added improvements to Keenan Cutoff to accommodate new school construction.
Precinct 3 (South County)
| May-15 | Nov-15 | Roadway | Limits | Scope | Est. Cost ($mil) |
| x | x | Rayford Road | Widen to 6 lanes & Overpass @ RR | 60 | |
| x | x | Gosling | Bridge (TIP) | Bridge over Spring Creek | 3.8 |
| x | x | Lake Woodlands Dr. | Town Center | Widen from E of Lake Front Cr to IH 45 (6 lanes) | 2.6 |
| x | SPUI I-45 | Woodlands Pkwy/Robinson Rd | Eng. Schematics (TIP) | 3 | |
| x | x | Woodlands Parkway | Grogan's Mill to I-45 | WB and EB expansion | 14.6 |
| x | Robinson Rd: I-45 to RR | Realign and widen to 4 lanes | Straighten the intersection on the east side of Robinson Rd. | 8 | |
| x | Signal/Intersect Improvements/Overlays | Thoughout Pct. 3 | Coordinate traffic signals for better enhanced mobility | 3.1 | |
| x | Wdlds Pkwy (Woodloch to Gro. Mill) | Town Center | Widen to 4 lanes to handle exiting traffic from I-45 | 2.2 |
Precinct 3 will receive $84 million and has removed the controversial Robinson Road widening project that would have required the use of imminent domain and restructed the widening of Woodlands Parkway near I-45 to be at-grade.
Precinct 4 (East County)
| May-15 | Nov-15 | Roadway | Limits | Est. Cost ($mil) |
| x | x | SH 105 | Loop 336 to Liberty County Line | 10 |
| x | x | Sorters Rd. | FM 1314 to Kingwood Dr. | 17.8 |
| x | x | SH 242 | Needham Rd to FM 1314 | 8.9 |
| x | x | FM 1314 - SH 242 Bridge | .3 mi. N of SH 242 | 4.7 |
| x | x | Tamina | David Memorial to Main St. | 4.9 |
| x | x | David Memorial | Shenandoah Park Dr. to SH 242 | 2 |
| x | x | Old Houston Rd. | FM 242 to FM 3083 | 1.9 |
| x | x | FM 1485 | I-69 to 1000' west | 0.3 |
| x | x | Ford Rd. | US 59 to Harris C/L | 11.9 |
| x | x | Gene Campbell Rd. | FM 1314 - FM 1485 | 1.5 |
| x | Community Drive | I-69 to Loop 494 | 2 | |
| x | Other | 1.5 | ||
| x | Deerwood | Subdivision | 1.5 | |
| x | FM 1485 | Kidd Cemetery Rd to SH 242 | 1.4 | |
| x | Bennette Estates | Subdivision | 1.2 | |
| x | Peach Creek Forest | Subdivision | 1.1 | |
| x | Willaby Rd. | FM 1485 to Shire Dr. | 1 | |
| x | River Oaks | Needham Rd. to East End | 1 | |
| x | Allendale | Lake Cr. To West Allendal | 0.5 | |
| x | Main | Broadway to Chateau Woods | 0.3 | |
| x | Porter Lane Drainage Proj. | Porter Ln to Black Branch | 0.25 | |
| x | Tamina Community | Drianage Study | 0.15 | |
| x | Crystal Forest | Subdivision | 0.1 | |
| x | Texaba | Subdivision | 2.2 | |
| x | Galaxy Blvd. | FM 1485 to Roman Forest Blvd. | 2 | |
| x | Trade Center Parkway | SH 242 to Harper's Landing Blvd. | 1.8 |
Precinct 4 will receive $68 million and has removed virtually all of its maintenance projects.
The proposed ballot measure passed the Commissioners Court 5-0.
Major Issues
The May 2015 proposal failed largely due to the inclusion of the Woodlands Parkway extension. Other major concerns of opponents included:
- The overall size of the bond due to the amount of existing county debt,
- Spending roughly 22% of the bond on maintenance projects,
- The lack of a county-wide transportation plan, and
- Other projects that appeared to serve special interests.
The November proposal:
- Removes the most controversial projects,
- Reduces the overall size from $350 million to $280 million,
- Reduces maintenance spending slightly more so that it is now 20% of the proposal
In addition, while it is not yet finished, a new County Thoroughfare Plan is expected to be released this fall. While these are all changes for the better, some are still concerned that:
- The proposal still relies on a considerable amount of new debt,
- Uses 20% of this money on maintenance, which should be funded out of general revenues, and
- Still fails to provide a thorough plan.
