Needville family worried proposed Highway 36A extension would cut through land

NEEDVILLE, Texas (KTRK) — The Browning family in Needville said most of the eight proposed routes for 36A would cut right through their family land or abutt it. The Brownings said they’re frustrated to have only just found out about the project and worry about how it will impact their family and community.

“I’ve spent a lot of time on this property. I kind of grew up out here,” David Browning said.

The Brownings said they have owned, loved, and worked their 100-acre plot in Needville since the 1800s.

“It’s been passed down through six generations. If this gets sold, I’ll be the last. I’ve seen the sun come up and the sun go down many a day out here,” father William Browning said.

Now the family said, after years of relying on the land, they’re doing their best to protect it in turn.

“A legacy of years and years of a family, like he said, is just gone,” David Browning’s wife, Cindy Browning, said.

The Browning family said it was just last week that they saw a social media post inviting people to attend a TxDOT informational meeting to learn more about the proposed 36A highway. William said at that meeting that he learned the project was big. Forty-one miles running from FM 1994 south of Needville to I-10 just west of Katy. TxDOT plans say it would improve north-to-south mobility and connectivity in a growing area. William said it was in that meeting that he also learned most of the proposed routes would cut right through their land, and a couple would potentially pave over one of his son’s homes that he started building on the farm just two months ago.

“This family has spent years and years saving for this moment, for their forever home. They had no idea this was coming,” Cindy said.

The Brownings said this isn’t just about their land. They worry how a highway intersecting county roads could impact school bus routes. They fear that families who couldn’t afford land, unless it was a family inheritance, will be forced to move. And they speculate this could negatively impact the already shrinking agriculture industry.

“We do have a voice. One of the things I saw on Facebook that was heartbreaking was how many people felt already defeated, and they’re like, ‘Why share? Why bother? They’re just going to take it. I just want to remind everyone that yes, we are representing this particular land, but this represents more than just this land; this is your voice,'” Cindy said.

Eyewitness News reached out to TxDOT, who sent us to their website. The website says comments received by Sept.12 will be included in public scope documentation. You can email comments on the project to [email protected] or leave a comment on their online form here.

36A could be finalized by mid-2028.

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