Drivers around Spring and The Woodlands could have a very different Tuesday evening commute, once the latest piece of the long-awaited Grand Parkway opens for business.

The newest segment of the tollway from Interstate 45 eastward to U.S. 59 will open Tuesday following a ceremony.

“We fully (expect) the lanes to open before rush hour,” said Raquelle Lewis, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation in Houston.

Lewis said for the first few days use of the lanes will be free, with tolls set to take effect April 4 at midnight.

The 12.5-mile segment will radically reduce the time it will take for drivers in The Woodlands and other northern Houston suburbs to access U.S. 59, and is expected to reduce demand on local streets such as Riley Fuzzel Road.

The opening is the second in less than two months along the Grand Parkway, which is planned as a third ring road around Houston. The stretch from U.S. 290 near Cypress to I-45 in Spring opened Feb. 5.

Though area drivers have embraced the tollway, with some reporting far less stress traveling in northern Harris County, the tollway's use and effect has been difficult to gauge. TxDOT, which manages the tollway, has not released use data for the newest segments, citing the need to disclose this information first to holders of bonds issued by the state to fund the tollway construction.

Welcomed by many residents in northern Harris County and southern Montgomery County, the tollway is meant to relieve crippling congestion on local roads, caused by explosive growth and development in the region.

Opponents argue the tollway promulgates even more development and sprawl in once-rural and traffic-free communities.

The segments, built at a cost of $1.1 billion, were initially expected to open together by the end of last year. Heavy rains in May and October slowed progress by Zachry-Odebrecht Parkway Builders, the consortium hired to build the latest segments.

Construction, meanwhile, frayed nerves of local drivers, especially near Rayford Road where detours and lane closings complicated commutes.

Tuesday's opening is just the end of the road for the next four or five years. TxDOT officials later this year are expected to choose the builder of the next segments, from U.S. 59 north of Houston to Interstate 10 near Baytown. Work on that stretch is set to start next year, with completion tentatively expected in 2021.