JET STAR CAPT UNKNOWINGLY CROSSED ACTIVE RWY DURING TAXI OUT DUE TO BELIEVING THAT A NEW RWY WAS NOT YET OPENED; OR A TXWY; SINCE NO RWY SIGNS WERE OBSERVED.

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PLT FLYING L SEAT TO GET RECURRENT. MADE L TURN TO HOLD SHORT CROSSING RWY 15R IAH. NO RWY SIGNS ERECTED. NEWLY OPENED RWY. FAILED TO STOP PRIOR TO CROSSING. CROSSING OTHER ACFT IS AIRBORNE PASSED WELL OVERHEAD. PLT FLYING FAMILIAR WITH ARPT AND WAS UNDER IMPRESSION RWY WAS STILL CLOSED. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT NONE OF THE THREE CREW MEMBERS ON BOARD (ONE IN THE JUMPSEAT AS AN OBSERVER) NOTICED THE RWY SIGN WHICH THEY DID SEE THE NEXT DAY AFTER GOING BACK TO LOOK OVER THE AREA OF THEIR MISTAKE. THE RPTR WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE ARPT LAYOUT AND WHEN THE OTHER CREW MEMBERS SAID THAT THEY BELIEVED THE NEW RWY TO BE CLOSED; AND THERE WAS CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY NEARBY; RPTR BELIEVED IT TO BE INACTIVE. HOWEVER; WHEN A GENERAL AVIATION ACFT FLEW OVERHEAD AS THEY CROSSED THE RWY; THEY SUSPECTED THAT IT WAS OPEN AND ACTIVE. SUBSEQUENTLY; THE TWR CTLR ADVISED THEM OF THEIR MISTAKE AND DIRECTED THEM ONTO THEIR TKOF RWY. AFTER FLT; THE TWR WAS CONTACTED TO DISCUSS THIS MATTER FURTHER.