Denton City Council did not endorse staff's preferred route for the Denton County Outer Loop as TxDOT continues environmental evaluations ahead of a planned route selection in 2027. (Courtesy City of Denton)
A proposal to endorse routes drafted by the Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT, for the Denton County Outer Loop freeway failed after Denton City Council deadlocked in a 3-3 vote during an Oct. 27 meeting.
The city transportation staff's recommendation was originally placed on the council's consent agenda for the Oct. 13 meeting, where it was pulled for individual discussion and postponed.
The details
The proposed Outer Loop is a 20-mile, six-lane freeway designed to connect IH-35 in Denton County to the Dallas North Tollway in Collin County.
The routes of the Outer Loop under consideration, Alignments B and B2, touch Denton's municipal boundaries, while the other two alignments are within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction.
TxDOT's proposed alignments connect IH-35 and the Dallas North Tollway by crossing the Elm Fork of the Trinity River greenbelt near Aubrey and Prosper.Courtesy City of Denton
According to city transportation staff, their recommendation is based on:
Lack of contiguous, major east-west roads that Denton has access to
Projections showing Denton's population and employment doubling by 2050
Need to expand road network capacity to reduce congestion
Alignments B and B2 posing lower floodplain and environmental risks than alternatives
TxDOT and Denton County are leading the Outer Loop project jointly. As part of the Environmental Impact Statement process, officials from both entities invite cities along the corridor to review proposed alignments and submit resolutions expressing local preferences or concerns.
What happened?
Council Member Suzi Rumohr—who pulled the item for council discussion—was the only council member who spoke during the discussion, opposing the staff's recommendation.
"I'm just concerned about what this is going to do in terms of attracting really sprawling development... Our taxpayers are struggling with all of this massive infrastructure we're having to build up front to fund all of the growth that we're seeing," Rumohr said.
She recalled asking a project planner a year ago how officials intended to mitigate congestion and fatalities on the Denton County Outer Loop, saying the planner suggested widening the road as a solution.
"Which is what we're doing with I-35," Rumohr said. "And it's still congested, still killing people."
What's next
TxDOT plans to formally recommend its preferred alternative alignment by the end of 2026, then announce the preferred route, issue a final Environmental Impact Statement and officially select the route in 2027.
For the council to officially endorse a route before TxDOT finishes its environmental evaluation, a council member would need to request a motion for reconsideration or staff would need to present a revised resolution.
