Construction on the long-awaited sound wall shielding Clear Creek Village from Interstate 45 noise will begin "soon," Mayor Nick Long said on X on Thursday, signaling the project is running ahead of the Spring 2027 start date the city posted as recently as late July.

The 14-foot wall, stretching from Clear Creek to FM 518, is a TxDOT-led project decades in the making. TxDOT is covering all architectural, engineering and construction costs, according to Community Impact. League City budgeted $200,000 for utility relocations and easement acquisitions on its side.

Long credited neighborhood activists, Councilman Tommy Cones and State Sen. Mayes Middleton for pushing the project forward. TxDOT, Cones and Middleton could not be reached for comment.

Residents of the subdivision, which backs up directly to I-45, have waited since the 1990s for relief. Penny and Tom Dougherty, 75 and 81, told KPRC in October 2025 that TxDOT first promised a barrier more than 30 years ago. Sound measurements at their property line registered nearly 70 decibels, roughly the volume of constant conversation.

"There's nothing we can do out there. We have a pool that we rarely use. The kids don't want to go out here — it's too noisy," Penny Dougherty told KPRC at the time.

The wall was originally supposed to be part of the I-45 expansion project but was separated out due to complications with land acquisition and utilities, TxDOT told KPRC in that same October 2025 report. The city council has since authorized eminent domain proceedings to secure two small easement parcels needed for construction, one believed to be owned by C.J. Mitchell and another by 713 RE, LLC, according to council records.

As of July 27, the city's project page showed the project still in the design coordination and utility relocation phase, with TNMP having submitted a TxDOT permit application and coordinating pole placement. That page listed Spring 2027 as the anticipated construction start.

Long did not specify a month or date for the earlier start, and no updated official timeline from TxDOT or the city has been published to confirm the acceleration. The city's project page lists Amber Pedigo ([email protected], 281-554-1265) as the contact for residents seeking updates on construction timing.