Willis residents will have a chance to hear directly from Texas Department of Transportation representatives about traffic concerns and future plans for FM 1097 during an Aug. 12 town hall.

What residents should know: The community informational meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Willis City Hall, located at 501 W. Montgomery St.

According to information announcing the event, the meeting was requested following concerns from residents and business owners about growing traffic issues along FM 1097. Attendees will be able to hear updates from TxDOT officials, ask questions and share concerns or ideas about the corridor.

FM 1097 is a TxDOT-controlled roadway, meaning the state agency oversees many of the major improvements and traffic-related decisions along the road.

Willis Mayor William Brown said the meeting will also give residents and commuters an opportunity to learn more about future plans for FM 1097 as Willis continues advocating for improvements aimed at traffic flow and safety.

Kendra Wiggins is the executive director of the Conroe ISD special education department, which has grown by 15% in the past five years, with 11,911 special education students currently enrolled and 1,084 students being evaluated, as previously reported by Community Impact.

A 27-year veteran in education, Wiggins’ current role is overseeing the expansion of the department. This includes hiring over 15 new teachers for the special education department, as well as 3.2 million in department funding. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What made you want to pursue working in special education?
I am starting year 27 in special education. I have been in special education my entire career. I have always enjoyed working with our special needs students. In high school, I went to my elementary campus to support students.

What are some of your responsibilities, day to day, as special education director?
A significant portion of my time is dedicated to meetings that directly support students, campuses, and district initiatives.

Several projects in Montgomery County and the Conroe area are seeing progress according to a report from the Texas Department of Transportation dated for August.

I-45 direct connector
Project: A direct connector is being constructed from northbound I-45 to eastbound Hwy. 242. Drainage improvements are also planned along the northbound and southbound frontage roads from Shenandoah Park Drive to Hwy. 242.
Update: The project is 10% complete, according to TxDOT. This is a change from the previous month’s report, which listed the project at 25% complete.

Hwy. 105 widening
Project: Hwy. 105 East is being reconstructed and widened from two to four lanes between 10th Street and South Loop 336.
Update: The project is 60% complete, according to TxDOT. This is a change from last month’s report when the project was listed at 65% complete.

FM 1097 at Atkins Creek
Project: Work at Atkins Creek includes a culvert replacement, concrete liner channel with baffles, added shoulders, milling and overlay.
Update: The project is 90% complete, according to TxDOT.

Biopharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb has selected Generation Park for its new $2.3 billion manufacturing campus, officials announced in an Aug. 10 news release. The project is expected to bring nearly 500 jobs to the Lake Houston area.

The big picture: The state-of-the-art 600,000-square-foot campus will enable BMS to manufacture multiple types of medicines, such as small molecules, biologics and antibody-drug conjugates. Per the release, the campus will be modular and multimodal to support long-term growth and allow the campus to evolve as needed.

The impact: Jobs created by the new campus will include operations technicians, production specialists, maintenance and engineering professionals, quality control and assurance experts, and site leadership and administration. Per the release, BMS also expects to create approximately 2,000 construction and other indirect jobs between 2027-30, while the facility is built.

Some context: Community Impact first reported BMS was considering Generation Park for a new manufacturing campus in May.