TxDOT STUDYING TRAFFIC PATTERNS ON HIGHWAY 290 FOR CLOVERLEAF IMPROVEMENTS

  

Anyone travelling along Highway 290 in Brenham earlier this week might have noticed some unusual pieces of equipment set up at several spots on the highway.

That equipment, according to TxDOT, was being used to gauge traffic flow and monitor patterns for future improvements at the Highway 290 cloverleaf interchange with Highway 36.

According to Bob Colwell, Public Information Officer for TxDOT’s Bryan District, traffic counters were set up by TxDOT’s consultant, PGAL out of Houston, to collect additional traffic data to support its study of the interchange.

Colwell said the counters had been placed along the highway northbound going toward Somerville, eastbound toward FM 389, and westbound toward Berlin Road. The counters were picked up by PGAL on Wednesday.

TxDOT set aside $50 million in construction funding toward the cloverleaf improvement project in the 2020 Unified Transportation Plan (UTP), approved in August by the Texas Transportation Commission. The project is intended to improve the intersection of Highway 290 and Highway 36 by improving safety, reducing congestion, maintaining connectivity, and providing statewide and local mobility.

Last March, Brenham City Councilmembers and Washington County Commissioners met with TxDOT representatives to discuss prospective cloverleaf changes. Concepts for changes to the cloverleaf’s design were showcased and discussed.  Out of the three options presented at the meeting, local officials seemed to gravitate toward the second option presented: a southern direct connection, which would create a connector south of the current cloverleaf with continuous flow for Highway 290.

The project is currently set in the UTP as a long-term project, expected to take at least five years to develop and complete. At the meeting last March, TxDOT representatives told local officials that construction was tentatively set to begin in 2025.

To learn more about the project, click here.