Tag Archives: Highways

Liberty County to be Epicenter of Grand Parkway Construction in 2018

14 Friday Jul 2017

Posted by in Grand Parkway, Liberty County, texas condemnation, texas eminent domain, TxDOT

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way Segments F and G. Courtesy of HoustonFreeways.com

With Construction on Segments H & I-1 of the Grand Parkway set to begin in 2018, it seems likely that a wave of eminent domain proceedings is imminent in Liberty County. The Right-of-Way acquisition process for this 37-mile long segment of the project is estimated to take 24 months and will involve approximately 375 parcels of land. Following standard practice, the Texas Department of Transportation (“TxDOT”) will present the current landowners with a series of purchase offers. Should any of these landowners reject TxDOT’s offers, the State will exercise their power of eminent-domain to condemn properties they deem necessary for the project.

Segments H and I-1, located to the northeast of Houston, will run through Chambers, Harris, Liberty and Montgomery counties. Liberty County, however, will be the epicenter of the project with a large portion of the expansion taking place within its boundaries. As construction is right around the corner, Liberty County landowners with properties located in the project’s Right-of-Way have likely already received or will soon receive offers for their land from TxDOT.

The project will add two tolled lanes each direction between US 59 and Interstate 10 (“I-10”).

Construction will include the addition of 74 bridges, spread across the entire length of the project segment. The project is expected to cost $855 million and is anticipated to be completed in 2022.

Written by Graham Taylor

Abbott Boosts Road Budget by $4 Billion

21 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by in Bryan, Houston, Navasota, Politics, Property Rights, texas condemnation, texas condemnation lawyer, texas eminent domain, TxDOT

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Governor Greg Abbott made public roads a focal point during his first State of the State Address earlier this week and included it as the third of five emergency items Texas will tackle this year.

The new governor’s budget includes an additional $4 billion for Texas roads. The governor attributed this increase in budget to funding from Proposition 1 (read more here), the current State Highway Fund, and the reallocation of half of the state’s new and used vehicle sales taxes outlined in Senate Bill 5 (read more here).

As evident from the governor’s State of the State Address, transportation will remain at the forefront of politics this year. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has a number of projects already in motion already and announced a list of potential projects earlier this year (read more here).

One of the projects picking up speed right now is the Aggie Expressway, expected to be completed within the next few years. This project will extend State Highway 249 from Houston to Navasota, where it will connect to Highway 6 in Grimes County. The expressway could also require up to nearly 600 acres of right-of-way acquisitions.

While a less congested path to Aggieland, or College Station, will certainly help fans commuting on game days, this path will come at a cost to many local land owners.

If you have any questions regarding this or any other road projects, please feel free to contact Justin Hodge (jhodge@jmehlaw.com). To read Abbott’s full Address, click here.

Coauthored by Justin Hodge and Ayla Syed.