New 53-mile stretch of Grand Parkway opens in both directions
To celebrate the grand opening, tolls will be waived until Saturday, according to TxDOT.
Texas Department of Transportation crews officially opened new northeast segments of the SH-99 Grand Parkway on Thursday.
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.
