Alonzo Liñán, Keller Public Works Department director, presented updates on the median projects at FM 1938/Davis Boulevard and U.S. 377. The first project’s scope is on FM 1938, from Harwood Road to FM 1709. The second project’s scope is on U.S. 377, from I-820 to Bear Creek Bridge.
While construction on the FM 1938/Davis Boulevard project is not expected to begin until late 2026, an interim median will be installed at Bandit Trail by spring 2022, according to Liñán. This is because the area continues to see crashes. Liñán said that as cars come across Bandit Trail from the east heading west, drivers “want to turn left.”
“What makes it exacerbated is not just Bandit Trail, vehicles or residents, but it's also Colleyville—because this is one of the few east-west routes that connect Colleyville to 1709 without going south to other roads,” Liñán said. “And so it goes, many vehicles come through this residential area.”
Liñán said the public works department let citizens know that they qualified for a traffic signal, but residents were concerned that installing a light would encourage more people to come through the area.
Because of that, Liñán said he and TxDOT concluded that taking away the option for a left turn and implementing a median were the best way forward. This would mean drivers who want to turn left would need to go north and make a U-turn.
“Now, is a U-turn the worst thing in the world? No, it's not, because we're talking about more than enough space to make the maneuver,” Liñán said.
As for the U.S. 377 median project, Liñán said construction is not projected to start until late 2025. The main update surrounds the two left-turn lanes going west onto North Tarrant Parkway and the two going north. Liñán said the problem there is that many people misuse the outside left-turn lane to go straight because there are three lanes to the north.
To fix the issue, Liñán said the department recommended that TxDOT, as part of its other modifications, expand the median and take out the inside lane so that there are only two lanes to the north. This way, drivers will be unable to use the outside turn lane to go straight because there will not be a corresponding lane.
