Denton County has seen massive population growth in recent years, and Argyle has been no exception. Argyle’s population grew by 34.16% from 2010-20, while neighboring Northlake grew by over 200% in that time, according to U.S. Census data.
To help with Argyle traffic, plans to widen FM 407 and US 377 are currently in the planning stages. US 377 will eventually be expanded to two lanes on either side, while FM 407 will become three lanes on either side.
Both projects are a while away from full completion, but the town is hoping to see progress in 2023.
“This is a town that has really severe mobility issues because of the pace of development around us,” Argyle Mayor Bryan Livingston said. “The buildup of population around us has been quite rapid, so interior mobility in our town is really a problem. That's an issue that we're trying to cope with.”
The FM 407 project will get a head start with a breakout project that will add a lane to a 1.4 mile stretch of the road from Gateway Drive in Argyle to Cleveland Gibbs Road in Northlake. The breakout project will hopefully begin utility coordination around April, with a letting date set for late 2024, according to Argyle Public Works Director Robert White.
Livingston said the breakout project would not be possible without cooperation between all of the communities affected by the project.
“There's really had to be a fair amount of teamwork here, and it’s been effective,” Livingston said. “If we weren't working as a team, we would not have succeeded in getting a breakout project.”
As the FM 407 breakout project moves towards utility relocation, the US 377 project is hoping to break free of the delays caused by its own utility issues. Livingston said the project has seen several delays because “almost a dozen different underground utilities all operated by different owners had to be moved out of the way.”
White is hopeful that utilities will be relocated by August.
“Because of the utility relocation, [the US 377 project] was spinning its wheels for a while,” White said. “We're trying to make sure that we not only get our utilities moved off center, but the sewer lines have to fit within certain regulations—that means that if it's not done right, we could cause others needing to be relocated... Our hope is to try and have that done before September so we can get with (The Texas Department of Transportation) on pushing for the 377 project to go as quickly as possible.”
Another thing that may ease some of Argyle’s traffic issues is the completion of the Stonecrest Road reconstruction project, which is set to finish early this year. That project’s completion could also have some major benefits on the larger projects looming, according to White.
“With the condition of Stonecrest, from my understanding, it needed to be redone,” White said. “The question came up whether or not it would be better done before, during or after the US 377 widening... getting it done before is good, because that helps our local users, because they’ll have the alternate route of taking Stonecrest while [US] 377 is under construction.”
Livingston added that the Stonecrest Road project would have some other safety and quality of life advantages.
“Because the road surface was just a series of massive potholes and bumps, it had to be replaced for safety reasons,” Livingston said. “But you’ve had people who are losing their driveways for 24 hours or longer, and you’re also dealing with the road being fully blocked by equipment. It's just been hard, because we're dealing with narrow rights of way.”
Town officials are also hoping to address some of the thoroughfare issues with an update to its comprehensive plan. The update process began in December, and it is expected to conclude in July.
While the town is taking steps to deal with its mobility issues, Livingston said he knows that it will remain a challenge in the future due to the area's growth.
“When you rebuild small roads in a small town environment, there will inevitably be disruption, and it's not fun,” Livingston said. “The town has to make some decisions that balance the desire of most residents for preservation of the town’s small town character, as well as coping with being in one of the fastest growing counties in the United States.”
