Leman, Fauth applaud SH 249 changes

State Representative Ben Leman of Texas House District 13 and Grimes County Judge Joe Fauth III announced changes to the SH 249 expansion project through Grimes County that will provide “a more safe and reliable corridor.” The State Highway 249 Expansion project includes approximately 24 miles of new roadway from FM 1774 in Pinehurst, Montgomery County, to State Highway 105 near Navasota in Grimes County.

“I thank TxDOT, Judge Fauth and all of the County Commissioners of Grimes County for their hard work and collaboration with me on this effort to ensure overpasses and passing lanes are implemented into the design of the SH 249 within Grimes County,” said Leman. “If it was not for the collaborative effort of all elected officials and citizens, these needed revisions to address the safety concerns would not have occurred.”

In a statement provided Monday morning, Rep. Leman stated that the “design is being revised to included many of the features that were in earlier versions of the project.” Citing the current planned overpasses at County Roads 306, 307 and State Highway 105, the project will now include additional overpasses at FM 1774, CR 304 and FM 1748. In addition, the revised design is supposed to include a passing lane for both eastbound and westbound travel lanes.

“These improvements, combined with the removal of the toll ensures this project is safe for our citizens and provides a benefit to the region by addressing our future overall transportation needs,” said Leman.

Fauth praised the hard work of Rep. Leman and TxDOT District Engineer Lance Simmons for the “steadfast work to ensure the revisions to SH 249 were made possible” and noted that he had first started looking at the project in-depth when he took office in 2017 and “was very concerned about the changes TxDOT was making to the design” after the toll road designation was removed. Fauth said that many meetings and with TxDOT being open to concerns, there county was able to reach an agreement that would improve safety.

“Without the collective work of everyone involved, including the entire community, these major updates never would have happened,” said Fauth. “I am happy that these improvements being put into place to address the safety concerns are being implemented and that Grimes County will benefit from the placement of the overpasses and passing lanes as we continue to grow.”

According to Bob Colwell with the Bryan District of Tx-DOT, the department will be releasing a statement with “more details when there are more defined plans in place.”

For more information on the SH 249 expansion project, go to http://txsh249.com/.