“The bottom line is that we need to plan on this county growing to the 2.5 million people that they say it is going to have,” Collin County Judge Keith Self said. “We simply will not be able to handle that high population of people with our current roadways.”
Self said the county’s need for updated roadways comes after years of inadequate state transportation funding.
Now officials say Collin County is stunted in terms of limited-access roadways, such as interstate highways, parkways and freeways, especially when compared with neighboring counties.
Lack of infrastructure coupled with limited mobility, population growth, and the possible future availability of state funds has prompted county commissioners, the North Central Texas Council of Governments and several county cities to work together to add more roadway miles to the map.
In November, Texas voters approved Proposition 7, a constitutional amendment that diverts $2.5 billion each fiscal year from the general sales and use tax revenue, and dedicates 35 percent of motor vehicle sales tax revenue, to the State Highway Fund. Proposition 7 is intended to provide funding for nontolled roads and helps reduce transportation-related debt.
The release of these funds is set to begin in fiscal year 2018-19.
In order to increase the region’s chance of securing Proposition 7 funds, NCTCOG is seeking consensus between county and city officials on potential road projects.
“We still don’t have an allocation method and the revenues don’t even start until 2018, but [Proposition 7 funds give] us a chance to catch up Collin County, bring more transportation that isn’t tolled and to bring a better balance to the distribution of projects,” NCTCOG Director of Transportation Michael Morris said.
Mobility in McKinney
For the city of McKinney, US 75 remains a priority. Construction to widen US 75 through McKinney was completed last winter. Prior to that, northbound drivers coming from Dallas experienced delays when US 75 bottlenecked from four lanes to two lanes at SH 121, the city’s southern border.
Now, the NCTCOG and the Texas Department of Transportation are working to widen US 75 from I-635 in Dallas to SH 121 that could again cause McKinney to act as a choke point for travelers. The project requires consensus from cities along the corridor before construction can begin, but McKinney leaders are already anticipating its impact.
City Council Member Randy Pogue said TxDOT divides roads into sections, one of them being US 75 from I-635 to SH 121. Two and a half years ago Pogue said McKinney passed a resolution asking TxDOT to include McKinney within that section.
“So far they have acknowledged that request but have done nothing about it,” Pogue said. “TxDOT is going to go back in and [isolate] our section of US 75 with an expansion project running from I-635 to SH 121. That keeps us as a choke point. [US 75] should be looked at as a whole through McKinney because, frankly, we will end up having a larger population than Plano at some point, and we ought to be starting to act like it.”
Pogue said if initial construction on US 75 again does not include McKinney, the project could stall economic development as businesses looking to relocate will be faced with two options: move to southern portions of the county where construction along US 75 is complete, or move to McKinney and battle construction along US 75.
“Businesses won’t relocate to an area where access is restricted,” Pogue said. “Alternatively, with residential development, they won’t stay away because of the growth that’s coming. It is just disruptive. It puts us at an uneven playing field with our sister cities with which we are competing—Allen and Plano.”
When Cabela’s was relocating to Collin County, Pogue said the company had a choice among McKinney, Allen and Plano but ultimately selected Allen because infrastructure was complete.
“If you were to think about it with a perspective of the last few years, would [Cabela’s] have wanted to be on US 75 in Allen when it was already pristine or would they have rather been in McKinney where it was under construction and choked? That’s why I want this future project to be planned as a whole, include McKinney and not force us to be a chokehold again.”
While the city focuses on US 75, county officials are hoping to add another north/south thoroughfare between US 75 and Lavon Lake as well as expand and extend existing roadways.
Potential road plans
Collin County commissioners have named four major thoroughfares as top priority projects, including US 380; SH 78; the proposed expansion of the outer loop, which county officials hope will be the area’s next I-635, and a new north-south thoroughfare west of Lavon Lake and east of US 75.
Officials want to revamp US 380 into a limited-access roadway to allow increased mobility. However, McKinney Mayor Brian Loughmiller said in order for the roadway to be expanded, the county would need at least 300 feet of right-of-way, which he said is “simply not there.”
“I know there have been talks about having US 380 become a limited-access freeway but the reality is—at least on the Collin County side—there is not enough right-of-way to do that,” Loughmiller said. “At best, through McKinney, there may be roughly 100-150 feet of right of way available. We have developments happening, and more are planned. When development is already there you just don’t have the right of way available to commit to a limited-access freeway.”
The lack of available right of way could be a problem for local leaders moving forward, but the goal remains the same.
“We need to find a way to increase the number of limited-access roadways in this county,” Collin County Commissioner Chris Hill said. “We know we need more of these roadways, and putting them in place where development is already in existence is going to be very tricky.”
Hill said there is a real possibility that some cities will decline participation in certain projects.
“Just because we don’t improve the road does not mean people will stop driving on it. It just means that traffic will become more choked, and eventually people will scream out for more improved roadways,” he said. “Regionally, if we have a community who says they will not be a part of improving that roadway or do not want the roadway improved then we will always be looking for other options.”
Loughmiller said finding consensus on projects can be done, especially among cities north of SH 121 where right of way is available.
“I think we can get consensus if everyone comes in with the idea and understanding that we want expansion and additional roads, but we want it in a way where we can still develop economically,” he said. “So yes, I think we can get there. I think most of the mayors and commissioners are saying the same thing, it’s just the details of how that can happen that we need to wade through.”
