Houston Chronicle reports, “Drivers have waited years for a tollway stretching south from downtown Houston to Manvel, and now money related to the project will move south as well. Days after local leaders celebrated the recent start of construction [link added] on the $815 million first phase, Texas Transportation Commission members approved giving Brazoria County $10 million to design its segment of the [SH 288] tollway.” The newspaper adds that the design funding “comes from the upfront payment that Blueridge Transportation Group made to finalize its selection as the concessionaire for the Harris County portion of the tollway,” an uncommon but not unprecedented “swap of money.”
