State Highway 249 (SH 249), also known depending on its location as West Mount Houston Road, the Tomball Parkway, Tomball Tollway, MCTRA 249 Tollway, or the Aggie Expressway, is a 49.443-mile (79.571 km) generally north–south highway in Southeast Texas.
The Tomball Tollway is three lanes in each direction that are used to bypass seven stoplights and will only accept electronic toll-tags (EZ Tag, TollTag and TxTag) as no cash payments will be allowed; the total cost of the toll for HCTRA's segment is $1.50 for two-axle vehicles, while the SH 249 frontage roads will remain free to all drivers.
[9] This bypass was eventually incorporated into Phase I of the Tomball Tollway as the free to use frontage roads running alongside the tolled main lanes.
[12] Signed as MCTRA 249 Tollway, the first section to open was between Spring Creek and Sentinel Oaks (coinciding with Phase two of the HCTRA segment) on December 19, 2019.
The remaining MCTRA segment connecting to the TxDOT maintained section north of Woodtrace Boulevard opened on August 8, 2020.
[13][14] The total cost of the toll for MCTRA's segment is $1.47 for two-axle vehicles and, like HCTRA's Tomball Tollway, will only accept electronic toll-tags (EZ Tag, TollTag and TxTag).
[1] Previously, SH 249 was designated on June 22, 1937[22] from then-SH 73 (now Interstate 10) near San Felipe north to the Brazos River.
The highway's importance grew after Compaq, a former information technology company, chose to locate its headquarters near at the intersection of SH 249 and Louetta Rd in Harris County in the 1980s.
Continued growth in the Bryan/College Station, Conroe and northwest Houston regions have congested existing roadways, including SH 105 and FM 1774.
A bypass of Magnolia was desirable because of the large traffic load every October due to the annual Texas Renaissance Festival.
TxDOT has formed a working group with local officials and stakeholders to discuss alternatives for the SH 249 corridor.