State Highway 288 Corridor Master Plan Improvements

A key initiative in both the Pearland 20/20 and Pearland Prosperity community strategic plans is the beautification of key Pearland corridors and gateways. Utilizing the City Gateways Beautification Strategy and the SH 288 Master Improvements Plan, PEDC, along with the City of Pearland, Pearland Management District No.2, and other community partners, is making progress on the implementation of the proposed improvements, ensuring a quality corridor that will increase our community’s competitiveness for talent, jobs & investment.

In 2013, PEDC, the City and local commercial property owners worked with legislators to have the State create a Municipal Management District to improve aesthetics of the 288 corridor and the surrounding commercial areas. The Pearland Municipal Management District No. 2 (PMMD#2), which runs along the 288 corridor between Beltway 8 and County Road 59, will reinforce a positive image of the City and supplement public services by funding infrastructure, beautification, mobility/transportation, security and economic development projects along the corridor.

In 2014, PEDC, the City, and PMMD#2 worked to develop the 288 Corridor Master Improvements Plan, which provides design concepts and landscaping plans to beautify key intersections along the 288 Corridor. Plan components include lighting, special paving, water features, sculptural elements and increased plantings along the Corridor. PEDC and PMMD#2 are coordinated with TxDOT and the Brazoria County Toll Road Authority to incorporate these elements into the SH 288 managed lanes project. These improvements, which were completed in late 2020, included brick pavers, wet and dry detention ponds, bridge and barrier painting, decorative form liners, lighting conduit, pond edging, pear sculpture foundations, and upgraded decorative signal poles.

In November 2021, an $18 million contract was awarded for the final phase of the State Highway 288 Master Plan Improvements from Beltway 8 to Magnolia. These improvements include landscape elements, irrigation, lighting, water fountains, pear sculptures, sidewalks, and gateway markers. Construction began in in early 2022 on the final phase of improvements, and were completed in 2023.

PEDC is funding the entire $24.1 million cost of the 288 Corridor Master Plan Improvements. Funding for Corridor maintenance and long-term improvements will be the primary responsibility of PMMD#2 via its taxing authority.