HOUSTON, TX — The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) was recently joined by Texas Transportation Commissioner Robert C. Vaughn, Houston City Councilwoman Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, and other elected officials, local leaders, community members, and TxDOT staff to celebrate the beginning of the Texas Clear Lanes project at State Highway 35 from Griggs Road to Interstate 45/Spur 5. The project was awarded to Williams Brothers Construction in March 2023 for $93.9 million. Current TxDOT projects in the southeast Houston area have a total investment of $995 billion.

As part of the Texas Clear Lanes program, and to accommodate continued population growth, the project will construct a new eight lane freeway including 12-foot mainlines with ramps and four direct connectors, and also widen the existing bridge to increase capacity, reduce congestion, and improve overall traffic flow — particularly during hurricane evacuations.

“The improvements we’re making here in Houston and other metro areas are the governor’s vision to clear traffic logjams and get Texans — and Texas products — moving quickly again on our state’s roads,” Vaughn said. “Getting the traveling public through safer and faster is the goal and, since 2015, the Texas Clear Lanes program has $64 billion of non-tolled projects that are completed, under construction, or planned.”   

The average daily traffic of the project limits, a 1.81-mile segment, is over 102,000 vehicles per day and, in the next 10 years, it is projected to increase to over 142,000. An important corridor, it serves as an alternate artery connecting the SH 35 corridor to I-45 and SH 288 for people traveling between southeast Houston and the Houston Central Business District, University of Houston, Texas Southern University, the Historic Third Ward, and William P. Hobby Airport. Situated along the railroad corridor on the west side of the railroad, the project will improve linkage between major corridors in southeast Houston, including four roadways on the National Highway System: I-610, US 90A - Alternate 90, I-45, and SH 288.

“The State Highway 35 acknowledges the continued population growth in our city and our responsibility to provide robust infrastructure that can accommodate this growth," Shabazz said. “It will serve to better connect major corridors in southeast Houston, making it an invaluable artery in our city’s transportation network.”

The SH 35 project also crosses mainline BNSF and Union Pacific railroads near the roadway intersection of Mykawa Road, Long Drive, and Griggs Road. This triangular roadway intersection is complex due to at-grade rail crossings with these railroads. The project will provide access ramps immediately north of the triangular intersection as well as provide a grade separated route for north-south traffic.

The SH 35 project is expected to be complete by fall 2026.