Ask Dock Line Magazine: When Will the FM 1488 Work at FM 1774 Finally End?
A reader asked when the cones around FM 1488 and FM 1774 will finally disappear. The answer depends on which side of the intersection you mean—and one section may remain under construction until late 2027.
When Dock Line Magazine asked readers on Sunday, November 1, what local issue they wanted explained, Sharon Halsell asked a question that thousands of drivers have probably muttered while easing through another line of orange barrels:
When will the roadwork at FM 1488 and FM 1774 finally be completed?
This article is the answer.
The short answer
If you mean the widening west of FM 1774, that section is essentially at the finish line.
If you mean the work that begins at FM 1774 and continues east through Magnolia toward FM 149, the best current answer is late 2027.
That is a target, not a promise. Road schedules can still move because of weather, utility conflicts, drainage work and construction changes. But the old December 2026 date that still appears in some online records is no longer the best guide to when the in-town work will actually end.
One road—but two different construction jobs
Much of the confusion begins because people talk about “the FM 1488 project” as though it were one job. It is not.
Western section: From the Waller County line to FM 1774 in Magnolia, approximately 3.79 miles. This is TxDOT project 0523-08-007, and it was already in its final stages during 2026.
In-town section: From FM 1774 to west of FM 149, approximately 4.03 miles. This is project 0523-09-009, the work drivers are still watching move through Magnolia.
The two contracts meet at FM 1774. That makes the intersection look like the center of one enormous project even though the work on either side has been moving on two different clocks.
Why December 2026 still shows up online
A Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing registered in July 2021 listed an anticipated construction start of August 1, 2021, and a completion date of December 31, 2026. It also estimated the work at approximately $48.73 million.
But that filing was an early project registration—not a live construction calendar.
TxDOT's contract records show that the notice to proceed came on March 16, 2022, and physical work began June 14, 2022. In other words, the actual work started more than ten months after the date shown in the original state filing. The finish line moved with it.
What the TxDOT contract now tells us
James Construction Group received the contract with a bid of approximately $48.29 million. The job was built around 622 working days, which are not the same thing as ordinary calendar days.
A TxDOT contractor estimate dated May 8, 2026, showed the project 70.29% complete while reporting 129.58% of the allotted contract time used. The adjusted projected amount had reached approximately $49.21 million.
Those figures do not mean crews worked 130% of every day on the calendar. “Time used” is a contract measurement based on charged working days and adjustments. But the comparison does explain why the early 2026 finish date no longer fits the construction visible along the road.
Magnolia's city engineer had previously identified the third quarter of 2027 as the expected completion period. Later progress reporting based on TxDOT updates moved the target toward the fourth quarter. Put plainly, drivers should plan for work to continue through late 2027.
What is being built
The in-town project reconstructs and widens FM 1488 from two lanes to four. Planning records also describe bicycle accommodations and a center turn lane through the corridor.
Some new lanes can open before the entire contract is finished. That is why drivers may see a completed-looking stretch followed by another traffic shift, driveway adjustment, drainage crew or barricaded section farther ahead.
Officials have pointed to major utility relocations, drainage redesign, railroad coordination, environmental reviews and state construction processes as reasons this corridor cannot be rebuilt in one clean sweep. The road must continue carrying local traffic while much of that work happens around it.
Do not mix this project with the other FM 1488 work
The raised-median safety work farther east toward Mostyn Drive and Interstate 45 is a separate project. So is the long-discussed Magnolia Relief Route.
Both can affect what drivers see or hear about FM 1488, but neither changes the direct answer to this reader's question about FM 1488 and FM 1774.
The bottom line
The western widening that ends at FM 1774 is nearly finished. The construction beginning at FM 1774 and continuing through Magnolia toward FM 149 is the longer-running job, and its current finish line sits in late 2027.
The December 2026 date is not imaginary. It is simply an old planning estimate that remained online after the real construction calendar changed.
That is exactly what Ask Dock Line Magazine is supposed to do: take a straightforward reader question, follow the paper trail and return with the clearest answer the records will support.
