HOUSTON – Former mayor Bob Lanier left his mark on Houston while serving the city and now the Grand Parkway will bear his name across seven counties in his honor.
Lanier, who died in 2014, served as the city's mayor in the 1990s and actually spearheaded the creation of the Grand Parkway, Houston's third freeway ring.
Billy Burge, Lanier's long-time friend and a former developer, got approval from state and city officials to rename completed sections of the 180-mile roadway as the Mayor Bob Lanier Memorial Parkway.
Burge and Lanier's wife Elyse told KPRC2 the roadway honor is a fitting tribute.
"To see something not happen in his lifetime, but it's happened in my lifetime -- to see it happen and knowing how hard he worked and so many others, and Billy taking this on after he (Lanier) has left -- it's very emotional, and it's very exciting," Elyse said.
We're told the Texas Department of Transportation will install a few more of the signs in the future once construction on the remaining portions of the tollway is complete.