A combined 53-mile stretch is officially open in both directions from I-69 near New Caney to I-10 in Mont Belvieu and from Beach City to SH-146 in Baytown.
For drivers looking for a way around traffic-clogged freeways in the metro area, the new sections offer a way around. For commuters from Spring to Baytown, it means faster access to growing suburban communities.
The new sections move the project past its 100-mile mark.
To celebrate the grand opening, tolls will be waived until Saturday, according to TxDOT.
Highway officials estimate construction cost $1.3 billion, according to our partners at the Houston Chronicle. The roughly 38-mile trip from I-10 north through Chambers, Liberty and Montgomery counties - sliding through a small slice of Harris County - will cost $8.51 for cars and small trucks, under approved rates set by TxDOT. For a semi-tractor trailer, the toll would be $42.55 for a single trip.
Rates will adjust annually, as with other TxDOT-controlled tollways in the area.
With the newest stretch open, the focus now shifts to the 60-plus incomplete miles of the tollway from I-69 to I-45 in Dickinson. No new segments of the parkway have final environmental approval, meaning construction is years away.