County, developers mark opening of Fish Creek Thoroughfare

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Written by Brian Walzel Friday, 08 May 2009 09:58

County, developers mark opening of Fish Creek Thoroughfare

Local officials, staff of The Johnson Development Corp., and area businesspersons will gather at 9 a.m. May 14 to formally mark the opening of Fish Creek Thoroughfare and the Lake Creek bridge.

At left, the Fish Creek Thoroughfare opened to traffic last week.

A major roadway through the new Woodforest master-planned community, Fish Creek Thoroughfare also is a regional artery, providing a north-south alternative to I-45. The thoroughfare now runs north through Woodforest to FM 2854 in Conroe. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year on a $6.3 million overpass that will be built above railroad tracks and FM 2854, connecting with the existing McCaleb Road and providing access to SH 105.

“Fish Creek Thoroughfare is a tremendous asset to Montgomery County as well as the entire region,” said Pct. 2 Commissioner Craig Doyal, who has spearheaded mobility projects in the region. “It is also a terrific example of a private-public partnership illustrating the possibilities that can be achieved through collaboration to improve mobility within Montgomery County.”

The Johnson Development Corp., the developer of Woodforest, contributed to the design of the $4.3 million Lake Creek Bridge, which is part of the Fish Creek Thoroughfare. The developer also funded an additional two lanes on a one-mile segment of the now four-lane roadway running through the heart of Woodforest, between the intersections of Elk Trace Parkway and Woodforest Parkway. In all, the extension of Fish Creek Thoroughfare cost $12 million and provides access from FM 2978 in Tomball to Conroe.

Doyal said the county has requested the Texas Department of Transportation include the roadway in the state system to give it a single farm-to-market designation rather than the four names it now carries.

Lake Creek Bridge and the Fish Creek Thoroughfare extension have been part of the county’s mobility plan since 1985, with funding secured through a 2004 bond election. Necessary construction permits for the bridge, which crosses a flood plain, took nearly two years to obtain.

“I really salute the previous commissioners for their forward-thinking approach in starting this project and acquiring the right-of-way,” Doyal said. “Most of the right-of-way was actually donated, but what we did have to purchase would be at substantially higher prices today than it was 20 years ago.”

“With the opening of Lake Creek Bridge, Fish Creek Thoroughfare and the recent FM 1488 expansion, the mobility of Montgomery County is greatly enhanced,” said Virgil Yoakum, general manager of Woodforest. “We are excited for the region and for the great potential it brings to Woodforest.”