KHOU-11’s Jeremy Desel checks in on uncompleted (and seemingly abandoned) connecting ramps at the new Westpark Tollway and Beltway 8:
At issue are the direct connecting ramps from Beltway 8 to the Westpark Tollway. They are tantalizingly close to completion. The signs are up, but there is nowhere to go, and now the company that is supposed to be finishing the job is gone. There is no one on the job.
The Harris County Toll Road Authority says that Jones Contractors quit late last week before mediation about contract issues.
The company says it suspended work after the county walked out of the mediation. It also says the Toll Road Authority didn’t pay them for more than $275,000 worth of work that had been completed.
The company also says the project is already delayed more than a year, due to various problems.
Initially, the Toll Road Authority had hoped to have the direct connect on-ramps open early next year. But if mediation is not an option, they’ll have to start over from scratch — with a new contractor.
In that case, a new contractor would not likely begin work again until January at the earliest.
Jones Contractors say they want to finish the job, but they won’t work for free. So as of now, there is no new completion date in sight.
The new toll road is an excellent addition to Houston’s transit system, and makes west Houston much more accessible from the Galleria and downtown. The Toll Road Authority needs to figure out a timely way to take care of these loose ends.
