I-45 and Holland Road to undergo intersection flip

DICKINSON, Texas -- In an effort similar to the work at the intersection of I-45 and FM 646 that finished in the summer of 2019, the Texas Department of Transportation will soon begin flipping the intersection of I-45 and Holland Road.

By the end of 2022, I-45 will pass over Holland Road in Dickinson, according to an email from Danny Perez, a Texas Department of Transportation public information officer. Currently, Holland Road passes over I-45.

Additionally, a new intersection of I-45 and Lago Mar Boulevard will be constructed, and I-45 will pass over Lago Mar Boulevard.

The work will be done in three phases. First, the Holland Road overpass will be demolished, the construction of new frontage roads will be completed, and TxDOT will temporarily widen the existing I-45 southbound main lanes, according to Perez.

Then, all traffic will shift to the southbound half of I-45, and TxDOT will construct the new I-45 northbound main lanes, including the I-45 northbound lanes over Holland Road and Lago Mar Boulevard.

Finally, all traffic will shift to the northbound side of I-45, and TxDOT will construct the new southbound main lane overpasses at both intersections and complete the east-west roadways below I-45. TxDOT will also build dedicated U-turns at the intersections, according to Perez.

During the months of work, motorists traveling along Holland Road will have to detour. Eastbound motorists will have to turn south, enter I-45, take the exit to FM 1764, continue east, take the Century Boulevard exit, make a U-turn, drive west on FM 1764 and merge onto the I-45 northbound lanes. Westbound motorists will have to turn north, enter I-45, turn around at Hughes Road and continue south along the I-45 frontage road before they reach Holland Road.

Holland Road and Lago Mar Boulevard are expected to be open to east-west traffic by the end of next year.

The intersection flip is part of TxDOT's $238 million project to widen I-45 from north of FM 517 to south of FM 1764. The widening is expected to wrap up by late 2023.

The widening of I-45 between NASA Road 1 and FM 518 is set to cost $99.7 million and to finish by the end of the year. The widening of I-45 from FM 518 to FM 517 is set to cost $121.7 million and to finish in early 2022, according to Perez.

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