An innovative intersection is a higher capacity and more efficient intersection that features left-turn lanes in opposing directions, which eliminates conflicts between opposing left-turn movements, reducing stops and delays, Director of Engineering and Capital Projects Randy Lueders said.
Lueders said the innovative intersection design, while the first of its specific kind, would be similar to the intersection at Parmer Lane and Whitestone Boulevard, which is called a “continuous flow” intersection.
What else?
Also included in the New Hope Drive at 183A Innovative Intersection Improvements project is the widening of New Hope Drive, from four lanes to six lanes between CR 180 and S. Blockhouse Drive. Lueders said the city is partnering with the NFM developers for the construction of this road expansion.
“There’ll be six lanes of traffic that goes into that intersection at 183A and then ties back into the existing four lanes at CR 180,” he said.
The improvements will address an increase in traffic, which officials are expecting from the development happening along New Hope Drive.
“As traffic continues to increase on 183A and New Hope Drive, we’re looking for innovative ways to move people through the intersections quicker and more efficiently without major highway interchange costs,” Lueders said. “It’s a more cost-efficient way to increase the throughput of the intersection.”
Next steps
The project’s design has already reached completion, Lueders said, and the city is currently awaiting approval from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which is set to happen in mid-September.
Once the project is cleared by TCEQ, the project will be ready for construction, Lueders said. He said officials are expecting to start construction in mid-September, which will take about two and a half years and is anticipated to wrap up in early 2027.
Lueders said the NFM developers will cover the costs associated with design and construction for both the intersection improvements and the roadway expansion.
