From 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 9, through 6:30 a.m. this morning, Emerald Parkway was scheduled to close under State Highway 6. TxDOT crews were removing parts of the existing bridge deck "to prepare for future bridge widening." For anyone who uses that crossing to get in and out of Emerald Forest, this was the most visible sign so far of what the Big 6 project is building at the neighborhood's main entrance.
The weekend closure is only part of it. The usual ways around that crossing are also under construction, each on a different schedule. The William D. Fitch Parkway work is the only one expected to wrap up before the end of 2026. Rock Prairie Road East is on a 2029 timeline, and the highway itself runs into 2030. Here's what each project is doing, and the closures and detours that will keep coming up in the meantime.
What Came Down This Weekend, and What Goes Back Up
TxDOT is widening the existing Emerald Parkway bridge, not tearing it down and replacing it. Community Impact's October 5 roundup described the weekend as a bridge demolition. It also listed overnight closures of the Harvey Mitchell Parkway turnarounds on both frontage roads earlier in the week, October 5 through 7, for related bridge demolition work. CollegeStation.news noted the dates depended on the weather. As of this morning, we hadn't found a report confirming the road reopened on time.
TxDOT also hasn't said how long the widening will take or whether more full closures of Emerald Parkway are coming. Its "looking ahead" notes for the next six months say two main lanes will stay open in each direction, most of the work will be on the main lanes, and crews will build temporary pavement and retaining walls.
The Interchange TxDOT Is Building
Big 6 covers 11.5 miles of SH 6, from SH 21 in Bryan to SH 40, which is William D. Fitch Parkway, in College Station. It adds a third main lane in each direction, plus collector-distributor lanes at selected spots and shared-use paths. The contract is worth $671 million and went to Fluor Heavy Civil. Construction started December 1, 2025.
Emerald Parkway turns into Harvey Mitchell Parkway, or FM 2818, as it crosses SH 6, so TxDOT's plans list this crossing under FM 2818. Here's what the project overview lists for the three interchanges closest to Emerald Forest:
- Southwest Parkway: new right-turn lanes, and bridge widening to add new U-turn lane bridges.
- FM 2818/Harvey Mitchell Parkway: traffic signals replace the stop signs, the bridge is widened to carry more SH 6 main lanes over FM 2818, and a new southbound collector-distributor entry ramp is added.
- Rock Prairie Road: new collector-distributor lanes, which TxDOT describes as transition lanes that keep merging traffic separate from through traffic.
The new signals at Harvey Mitchell are probably the biggest change for everyday driving. A crossing that runs on stop signs today will run on signals when the project is done.
TxDOT's written plans don't mention any permanent move or reversal of the Emerald Parkway ramps. Its detailed layouts for the Rock Prairie-to-Fitch section are drawings, and we couldn't confirm ramp alignments from them. So we're describing only what TxDOT has written down.
The U-Turns Do the Work for Now
TxDOT's detour for the weekend closure works the same way much of this project does. Traffic moves onto the frontage roads and turns around at the next interchange. The posted detour was:
- Westbound on Emerald Parkway: take the SH 6 frontage road and make the U-turn at Southwest Parkway.
- Eastbound on Harvey Mitchell Parkway: take the frontage road and turn around at Rock Prairie Road.
Those two turnarounds bracket Emerald Forest's main entrance, and both are getting rebuilt too. Southwest Parkway is getting new U-turn bridges, and Rock Prairie is getting collector-distributor lanes. Overnight closures around them come up regularly. KBTX's September 29 rundown listed overnight SH 6 main-lane closures between Southwest Parkway and Rock Prairie Road, plus a southbound frontage road lane and ramp closure between Rock Prairie and Barron roads. During that work, Barron Road traffic was sent through Rock Prairie. WTAW's September 14–17 bulletin listed a one-night closure of the northbound Rock Prairie exit ramp. It also listed a one-night closure of the northbound frontage road entrance ramp south of Harvey Mitchell Parkway.
The longest-running closure near the neighborhood is still unresolved. WTAW reported on January 20 that the northbound SH 6 exit ramp to Emerald Parkway/Harvey Mitchell Parkway would close around the clock "for at least six months." Six months from January 20 was late July. We haven't found any report since then that says the ramp reopened, got an extended closure, or is still closed. Check TxDOT's construction updates page before planning a trip home around that exit.
The Side Routes Run on Different Schedules
When the main entrance is closed or backed up, the obvious alternatives are William D. Fitch Parkway and Rock Prairie Road East. Both are construction projects of their own, on very different schedules.
| Route | What's happening | Where it stands | Expected finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| William D. Fitch Parkway, Williams Creek Drive to Rock Prairie Road | Final section of a rehabilitation project | Two-way traffic maintained throughout | Mid-December 2026 |
| Rock Prairie Road East, Town Lake Drive to William D. Fitch Parkway | Two-lane asphalt road widened to three-lane concrete | Design almost complete; land acquisition and utility relocation ongoing | Fall 2029, city estimate |
| SH 6 Big 6, SH 21 to SH 40 | Third main lane each way, interchange upgrades | Under construction since December 1, 2025 | Spring 2030, Fluor projection |
The Fitch project has the shortest timeline. The City of College Station announced in September that work on the final section, Williams Creek Drive to Rock Prairie Road, was starting. The City said traffic would keep moving both ways and the work should be done by mid-December. A September 9 construction alert from WTAW also reported the switch to continuous two-way traffic. If that schedule holds, Fitch will be the first of these routes to return to normal, about two months from now.
Rock Prairie Road East is the long one. The finished road will have three concrete lanes, separated bike lanes, sidewalks, storm sewer and lighting. That's a big step up from today's two-lane asphalt. Construction hasn't started yet, though. On July 23, College Station City Council authorized eminent-domain proceedings for a remaining tract of right-of-way, which means the land still wasn't fully acquired as of midsummer. The City's capital projects page says design is "almost complete," land acquisition and utility relocation are ongoing, and completion is estimated for Fall 2029. We haven't found a current official construction start date.
The Big 6 end date is the least firm of the three. Fluor projected substantial completion in Spring 2030 in a March 2025 release. That same release expected construction to start in summer 2025, but TxDOT's actual start date was December 1, 2025. TxDOT's pages don't give a revised completion date, so treat 2030 as the contractor's original estimate, not a firm date.
Put the three schedules side by side and you get roughly three years, from now until Fall 2029, when Rock Prairie East and the highway are both expected to be under construction or waiting on it. Fitch is the one route expected to be done by year's end.
Keeping Up With Closures
Weekly news roundups help, but they only cover a set window, like KBTX's September 29 through October 2 list. TxDOT's Big 6 construction updates page is the most direct source. It posts lane closures as they're scheduled, and it offers email or text alerts. For questions about a specific closure, TxDOT's Bryan District takes calls at 979-778-9701 and emails at [email protected]. The City of College Station posts updates on Fitch Parkway and Rock Prairie Road East through its news page and its capital improvement projects page.
If you're planning to buy or sell in Emerald Forest while all of this is underway, a roughly three-year construction window is a practical thing to plan around. Lisa Cadena Craig and the Northgate team keep up with these schedules closely and are happy to walk you through how the Big 6, Rock Prairie East and Fitch timelines line up with your plans. Reach out through Help Me Buy or Help Me Sell, and we'll start with the roads you drive every day.
