1,000 days of construction on Hwy 288

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- If you live in Pearland or Brazoria County, you've driven by the construction equipment on Highway 288.

You've also spent time sitting in traffic around the closures. But despite the headaches you may be enduring, construction along the highway is moving at a rapid pace.

The project to add toll lanes and ramps between US-59 and the Harris County line is on track to finish in mid-2019.

Right now, crews are building 120 giant columns at Beltway 8 that will eventually hold connector ramps from the new SH-288 toll lanes.

Down the road at I-610, you can see the skeleton of the eight brand new direct connectors to and from SH-288. These are taller than the old ones.

The connectors from I-610 Eastbound to SH-288 Northbound and I- 610 Westbound to SH-288 Southbound are the first to go up.

In mid-March, crews will demolish the Southmore bridge over SH-288 then rebuild it to accommodate the new road.

That process will take 12 to 18 months, with the entire 288 project taking no longer than 1,000 days, from start to finish.

RELATED: TxDOT crews to build a SH-6/FM-1960 bridge over US-290 in 2018

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