Texas Medical Center Commuter Relief-Highway 288 Toll Road Project

TxDOT says it's making progress as it links together all the components of the State Highway 288 improvement project. 

At the Port of Houston for a meeting of the Texas Transportation Commission, Houston Commissioner Jeff Moseley says they've started discussions on how to finance one of the major pieces.

The 288 project involves toll lanes along the median and they also have to build a series of connector ramps at Beltway 8.  Moseley says three different entities are coming together to build those connectors, and that includes TxDOT, the Brazoria County Toll Road Authority, and HCTRA, the toll road authority for Harris County. 

"There has to be a full discussion on who pays for the connectors, and who's going to get the money back from the tolls generated by the connectors."

The purpose of the 288 project is to alleviate congestion heading in and out of the Texas Medical Center. TxDOT says about 15% of Med Center employees live in Pearland and use the route daily. Moseley says the connectors are essential to making the system function smoothly.

"And the total value of that, if all the connectors are built, there would be eight connectors built, that would be almost $400 million dollars involved in building eight connectors. So there's a lot of money and a lot of options."

Moseley expects significant action on the connector project over the next 24 months.  TxDOT is also doing environmental studies on another proposed connector that would funnel traffic from the toll lanes directly into the Medical Center.