SH 249 Project - Key Issues

• Traffic
  SH 105 is a two-lane roadway currently carrying 8,500 vehicles per day. In the next 20 years, this number is expected to increase to 15,000. For a two-lane, rural undivided roadway, this level of traffic is undesirable.
   
• Safety
  Traffic growth has compromised traffic flow at peak times along SH 105 and FM 1774. At this undesirable level, safety is compromised and crashes become more frequent. The existing alignments of these local roadways and the high number of intersecting driveways and cross streets further complicate efficient traffic flow.
   
• Freeway-type design
  SH 249 would be constructed as a freeway-type roadway. Entrance and exit ramps would be designed to avoid combining traffic of different speeds. Local driveways would not directly connect with the mainlanes carrying 70-mph traffic. Intersections would be designed as freeway interchanges rather than the existing intersections.
   
• Funding
  Transportation funds are allotted to construct this project in five to seven years. These funds are budgeted out of state and federal gasoline tax revenue.
   
• Tolling
  SH 249 would not be considered for a toll road unless this funding strategy is supported and approved by Grimes County elected officials. If tolled, excess revenue after paying for maintenance and operations would be available to fund other transportation improvements in Grimes County that could not otherwise be addressed by normal funding sources.