Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect that additional land was not acquired, but county staff was given permission to evoke eminent domain to acquire right of way for the Collin County Outer Loop from Preston Road to CR 87.

Collin County is planning to acquire another stretch of land using eminent domain for the Collin County Outer Loop project. Discussion took place at a meeting Feb. 11.

Commissioners gave county staff the authority to evoke eminent domain to acquire land east of Preston Road to CR 87. This comes shortly after commissioners acquired land between the Dallas North Tollway east to Preston Road as part of the Outer Loop project during the Jan. 28 meeting.

The Outer Loop is proposed to extend east from the Denton County and Collin County line south to Rockwall County. It is expected to help relieve traffic on US 380 and SH 78.

A final alignment for the roadway between Preston Road and US 75 was approved in December 2017.

The proposed loop already has a two-lane service road that runs between US 75 and SH 121 in Melissa. Construction is projected to eventually begin on another service road from the Dallas North Tollway to SH 121 and eventually run east of SH 78 and south to I-30.

The road would be the “next I-635” in terms of moving people across the county, former County Judge Keith Self said in a previous interview with Community Impact Newspaper.