Drivers southwest of the seawall on Galveston Island will be taking the high road in a couple years — or at least a higher road.

Texas Department of Transportation officials this week opened bids on a project to rebuild drainage, replace traffic signs and signals, repave and elevate FM 3005, more commonly called Terminal San Luis Pass Road, from the seawall to San Luis Pass. Work on the 18.7-mile project is likely begin in late summer and is expected to take about two years to complete.

Angel Brothers, based in Baytown and a frequent contractor on TxDOT projects, was the apparent low bidder with a estimate of $35.3 million. That was 19 percent below what state engineers expected.

The job calls for elevating the road 18 inches to 7.5 feet above sea level. That may not sound like much, but the elevation and improved drainage could keep the road out of the way of heavy rains and surging tides. Even slight elevation increases would be welcomed by residents because that stretch of road is not protected by the seawall, said Jerry Mohn, president of the West Galveston Island Property Owners Association.

In the past two years, spurred in part by the heavy flooding along the Gulf Coast caused by strong storms, TxDOT has elevated many of the seaside roads in the Houston area. Texas 87, which travels northwest of Galveston onto High Island — the only road in and out of the Bolivar Peninsula — is being elevated to 7.5 feet as part of an ongoing construction project.

dug.begley@chron.com