New county study could reshape transportation planning across Galveston area

Montgomery County commissioners took a key step Jan. 15 toward a new transportation plan that regional officials say could shape how roads and corridors are planned across the greater Houston-Galveston area for the next decade.

County Judge Mark Keough said the county has launched its first comprehensive mobility study, a 10-year effort designed to guide future transportation projects countywide and align local planning with regional and state priorities.

“This is a really good thing,” Keough said. “It’s never been done.”

The study is being developed in coordination with the Houston-Galveston Area Council, the regional planning agency that serves 13 counties, including Galveston County. In April 2025, the project was added to the council’s Unified Planning Work Program, a federally required document that budgets and schedules regional transportation planning work.

Keough said the county secured federal funds in October 2024 and formally requested inclusion in the regional program in December. After issuing a request for proposals in September 2025, the county awarded the contract to Freese and Nichols in December.

The study is expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete. Keough said its findings will later be used to update Montgomery County’s thoroughfare plan, which helps determine where and when major road projects move forward.

Deputy Chief of Staff Jason Smith said the work will begin this month with meetings between staff and each precinct team.

“We want to get the ball rolling,” Smith said.

Public input will play a major role. Smith said the county plans to hold two public meetings in every precinct, “a grand total of eight public meetings across the county,” to gather feedback on growth patterns, congestion and future corridor needs.

The study will examine major transportation corridors and develop a framework for how the county can “program and deliver future projects” over the next 10 years, Smith said.

Keough said the effort matters beyond Montgomery County because it could help the Texas Department of Transportation and regional planners move away from handling projects “piecemeal” and toward a more coordinated, long-range approach.

For Galveston County and other coastal communities tied into the same regional network, the study could influence future funding priorities and how major routes are sequenced across county lines.

The Houston-Galveston Area Council, along with state and federal partners, is covering the study's cost, which Keough said limits the impact on local budgets.

County officials did not set a firm completion date but said initial public meetings are expected later this year, with a final plan targeted for 2026, when the region could begin seeing the first projects shaped by the new roadmap.

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