Residents, business owners fed up with delayed Beltway 8 construction project: 'It's a mess'
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Road construction woes are not a strange occurrence in Harris County, but a project along Beltway 8 frontage roads from north of Fairmont Parkway to north of Darling Street seems completely stalled, and it's caused years of issues.
Those who live nearby do all they can to avoid it.
"I live just there, and CVS is here. I got to go all the way around to get back to my apartment because it's too much," Islet Joseph said.
Those with businesses will add time to their commute to stay away from the construction.
"It's frustration. It's added commute time for those coming to the office. We use the back road or that light over there. Spencer Highway gets really backed up," Taylor Heinz said.
Heinz manages Biehl, a shipping company whose driveway is impacted by the construction. He said the project is creating safety issues. A large, deep gap has been left between the two lanes.
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TxDOT data shows that at least 57 crashes have occurred in the construction zone since 2022.
"We have real problems. We've had mail trucks get stuck actually between the section where the dirt is, and a couple of times, we had to get tow trucks out here," Heinz said.
A project report from March 8 shows only 32% of the project is complete, but 93% of the project time has been used.
"It's the only way I can put it. It's a mess," Joseph said.
According to TxDOT, the reconstruction of Beltway 8 frontage roads, from north of Fairmont Parkway to north of Darling Street, kicked off in June 2022 and is projected to wrap up in March 2025. It's an unlikely deadline with only five days left in the month.
"Any day it gets done would be great," Heinz said.
ABC13 reached out to TxDOT with specific questions. They responded by saying unforeseen utility conflicts caused delays and are working to address them.
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