Construction project to widen I-10 west of Katy

BROOKSHIRE, Texas (KTRK) -- The sound of highway construction is familiar in our metro area, but not as much in Brookshire.

With a population of about 5,000, it's located just west of Katy on Interstate10 where the freeway narrows from three lanes to two. That is about to change.

"It would definitely help having a third lane," says the delivery driver, Juan Rivera. "There's a lot of traffic coming back and forth, especially on the weekends."

Rivera makes construction deliveries all day and constantly deals with the bottleneck of residents, big rigs, and road trippers.

"Into Brookshire from Katy, it goes down to two lanes, and right where the lanes merge, people are so feisty. They don't want to let you in," said Daija Owens of Sealy.

In the next three and a half years, TxDOT will widen the interstate from two lanes to three in each direction from FM 359 in Brookshire to the Brazos River. Crews will also build continuous service roads.

Amazon's newest fulfillment center is nearby, so the timing of the $142 million project is good, according to Brookshire mayor, Eric Scott. He believes the upgrade is also needed to maintain I-10 as a viable evacuation route.

"We can have smart, strategic growth that's facilitating a better quality of life for everyone."

In the meantime, everyone will have to deal with the traffic a little longer.

"You have to go through certain things to get to heaven, and that's what we're doing, and we welcome that."

The project is slated for completion in late 2021.