Some background
Phases 3 and 6 of the seven-phase project are currently under construction, and phases 1, 2 and 4A are complete, Garcia said.
The project will add water mains, wastewater and stormwater drains, as well as two additional lanes to the street, making it into a four-lane road, starting from Vintage Boulevard up through US 77, to accommodate increased traffic. The project also includes adding streetlights, sidewalks and a 10-foot trail along the road for the entire work area.
Construction on the project began in 2017, after securing funding for the portion of the project south of I-35 E in 2010, Garcia said.
Zooming in
Phase 3 covers Bonnie Brae Street from Roselawn Drive to I-35 E.
Work includes:
- Widening the roadway from two to four lanes
- Realigning the stretch of Bonnie Brae Street south of Parvin Street to connect to the intersection of Roselawn Drive and Bonnie Brae Street to the south, where Phase 1 is complete
- Adding street lights and sidewalks
Bonnie Brae Street is currently closed from Willowood to Parvin Street, while crews install drainage infrastructure and prepare to widen the road, according to a staff report. The road will reopen on Dec. 19, the report states.
Phase 6 construction, which spans from West University Drive to US 77 includes:
- Widening the road from two lanes, one in each direction, to four lanes total, divided by a median
- Adding a turning lane onto Rainey Road
- Adding sidewalks and street lights
- Adding traffic lights where Bonnie Brae intersects with Windsor Drive, Rainey Road and US 77. Construction will start on the traffic lights in the second half of 2026.
Zooming out
Garcia said the city of Denton is managing phases 1-6 of the seven-phase project, while the Texas Department of Transportation is managing Phase 7. TxDOT will extend Bonnie Brae past US 77 and connect it to Loop 288, according to city documents.
Phase 1 widened the roadway from two lanes to four lanes from Roselawn Drive to where Old Bonnie Brae Road meets Bonnie Brae Street, according to a 2021 project update. Phase 1 completed construction in 2020, Garcia said.
Phase 2 widened the road from two to four lanes along from Vintage Boulevard up through Roselawn, per a 2020 project update. Garcia said Phase 2 completed construction in March 2021.
Phase 4A added a roundabout to the intersection of North Bonnie Brae and Scripture Street. The roundabout completed construction in September 2020.
By the numbers
Seven different funding sources—including the 2012 Denton city bond and Denton County’s Transportation Road Improvement Program, or TRIP, bond in 2022—contributed to the project’s roughly $145 million budget for phases 1-6, Garcia said. Currently, phases 4B and 5 have not received funding.
Longer lead times and higher costs for raw materials post-pandemic factored into the funding delay.
“With Phase 3 and Phase 6 during COVID when we saw all the price escalations, the city really had to fight to find additional funds to be able to construct those projects,” Garcia said. “Phase 1 was roughly like $12 million. ... Phase 2 same thing, it was $11, $12 million. Phase 3 skyrocketed after COVID pricing to nearly $40 million.”
City documents state that city officials rejected the initial bids for Phase 3 in late 2022 because the costs were higher than expected. In September 2023, council reallocated roughly $2.8 million from Phase 4B to Phase 3 to meet the higher cost, and delayed 4B’s construction.
City leadership chose to build out Phase 6 to accommodate Denton High School, which opened in 2022. Phase 5 was also delayed to spread out the work, Garcia said.
“There was a decision made to kind of pause Phase 5 because we had Phase 3 going under construction and Phase 6 because of a new high school. They didn't want to do three segments of the corridor all at one time,” Garcia said. “We focused on the ends and then left the middle pieces for future work.”
Garcia expects phases 4B and 5 to receive funding in 2028 and 2031, respectively.
Seven sources totaling roughly $104 million fund the project so far, Garcia said.
Looking ahead
Phase 3 is scheduled to complete in November 2026, and Phase 6 will finish in spring 2027, Garcia said.
