The Texas Department of Transportation has added a third phase to the US 380 widening project.

The third phase will stretch from CR 26 to Loop 288–22 miles west of the Dallas North Tollway– and will be done in two sections.

“We are currently working on the design schematic and environmental assessment for the project,” said Stan Hall, interim director of transportation planning at TxDOT. “The project is being developed in order to accommodate the growing demand of traffic and provide safety for US 380 in this area.”

Widening project

From Loop 288 to the US 380/US 377 interchange, TxDOT will be restriping the existing six-lane roadway to provide for an outside shared-use lane, which is a shared lane for bicycle and automobile use. TxDOT will provide sidewalks and add right- and left-turn lanes at the cross-street intersections.

The second section is from the US 380/US 377 interchange to CR 26. It will be widened from a four-lane section with two-way left turn to a six lane divided section with a raised median, utilizing outside shared-use lanes, sidewalks and options for grade separation intersections at FM 720, Navo Road, FM 423, Teel Parkway and Legacy Drive.

Hall said additional intersection improvements along the project are being proposed to add dual left-turn lanes and right-turn lanes.

The design phase of this particular project is expected to be complete by summer 2017 with construction beginning spring 2018.

The first phase of the US 380 widening project stretches from Lovers Lane to Custer Road and is expected to be complete by this fall.

The second phase stretches from CR 26 to Lovers Lane and is expected to be complete by fall 2018.

Attracting developers

In the past few years, US 380 has become an attractive corridor for real estate investors and developers.

In March, Frisco City Council approved rezoning for a planned development called Frisco Crossing on the southwest corner of US 380 and FM 423. The 83-acre development is planned to have retail businesses– including big box retail stores and restaurants, multifamily homes, single-family homes and green space.

Frisco Crossing will be across from the new Wal-Mart Supercenter development planned on the southwest corner of US 380 and FM 423. On that same corner, there will also be a Taco Bell, Starbucks, Raising Cane’s, Chick-fil-A and Whataburger.

On the other side in Prosper on the northeast corner of US 380 and FM 423, a development called Windsong Ranch Marketplace is under construction that will include seven retail buildings with a Kroger Marketplace and one other big box retail store that has yet been announced.

“It’s really shaping out to be a real master-planned community,” said Garrett Weaver, interim director of Prosper Economic Development Corp. “Developers are seeing US 380 as the next major east and west thoroughfare with intersections with other major thoroughfares like the Dallas North Tollway and Preston Road. US 380 provides accessibility to the rest of the Metroplex and is expected to have strong growth and demographics.”

Developer Rudman Partnership is developing the Frisco Crossing project, and General Manager Trey Sibley said US 380 was the most attractive corridor for the mixed-use development.

“There are so many working couples today, and this is a very affordable area to live, where one spouse works in Denton and the other works in McKinney,” Sibley said. “We’re trying to provide the amenities for couples and individuals that live in that area to have all the same amenities you would have on the $5 Billion Mile.”

TxDOT will host a public meeting to discuss the US 380 project with the public on May 12. The meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. Navo Middle School, 1701 Navo Road, Aubrey.