[ad_1]
The Texas Department of Transportation opened the northern portion of a new bypass in the Four Points area on July 19th. (Courtesy of the Texas Department of Transportation)
Almost two years after the groundbreaking by the local authorities, the first section of a bypass road from RM 620 to RM 2222 has now been opened to traffic.
The Texas Department of Transportation announced in a July 19 press release that the northern section of the new bypass is now open to the public. Vehicles traveling north on RM 620 can use the bypass to get east on RM 2222.
According to TxDOT, the southern section of the bypass will be opened at an unspecified later date. Bradley Wheelis, TxDOT’s public information officer, said crews must re-deduct and install a turning bay for traffic from RM 620 southbound before the southbound bypass lanes can be opened. The final work on the project should be completed by early 2022.
The bypass cuts south of the existing intersection RM 620 and RM 2222, north of Steiner Ranch Boulevard, and is intended to divert the flow of traffic away from the northernmost intersection. The new bypass intersects RM 2222 near River Place Boulevard.
“>
TxDOT states on its website that the bypass will help ease the increasing traffic jams near the Four Points area. A 2020 study by the state agency found that travel times on the RM 2222 corridor between RM 620 and Ribelin Ranch Drive would increase by 40% to 59%. The analysis in the study found that travel times near Four Points were increased by improvements in the corridor, such as B. the new bypass could be reduced by up to 60%.
Around 40,000 vehicles drive an average of RM 620 and RM 2222 each day in places near the bypass road, as current traffic counts show. A feasibility study RM 620 published in 2017 predicts that traffic near the bypass will grow by more than 30% by 2034.
In an email to Community Impact Newspaper, Wheelis said that TxDOT expects more than 36,000 drivers will use the bypass on average every day once both directions of the road are open. The state predicts that number will rise to 54,300 average daily drivers by 2038.
[ad_2]
