Williams comes to direct connect rescue
The Woodlands Villager // The Woodlands News
Howard Roden
Tommy Williams
Montgomery County's final "pass-through" transportation project finally may be shovel-ready, after an assist from state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands.
The construction of two direct connectors at Interstate 45 and Texas 242 was scheduled to begin at the end of 2011, but several factors delayed the start. By the time those issues were resolved, the project's cost had risen from the Texas Department of Transportation's engineering estimate of $28.156 million to $33.998 million.
The latter figure was the low bid submitted by Williams Brothers of Houston.
"The impact of the delay meant the project was bid at a time when statewide construction pricing is on the rise," said Jennie Taraborelli, managing partner of PTP LP, the firm that managed the county's pass-through projects.
Since Dec. 1, the construction price has increased 17.3 percent, according to the TxDOT Highway Cost Index. Just in the timeframe between June 1 and Dec. 1, construction pricing rose 9.8 percent.
Taraborelli and former Precinct 3 Commissioner Ed Chance approached Williams in mid-December about a solution.
To ensure that Montgomery County had sufficient funds to complete the project, Williams worked with TxDOT officials to reprogram how the county would receive its pass-through reimbursement.
"The county didn't receive any additional funds. The state shifted some of the pass-through funds already awarded to Montgomery County in 2005 to this current phase of the project, rather than leaving the funds escrowed," Taraborelli said.
"We just cut through some red tape," said Williams, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
The plan calls for one of the direct connectors to allow traffic on northbound I-45 to exit onto westbound Texas 242, while drivers on eastbound Texas 242 can access southbound I-45.
Traffic on the two direct connectors will use electronic tolls.
Williams said I-45 and Texas 242 is the most congested intersection in Montgomery County.
"I avoid it all day long," he said. "And I certainly don't want to be there at 5 in the afternoon."