Median work, beautification coming to FM 1938/Davis Boulevard in Southlake

The city of Southlake is moving ahead with landscaping plans on FM 1938/Davis Boulevard after a timetable adjustment by Texas Department of Transportation.

According to city documents, TxDOT is currently in design to construct raised medians on FM 1938 from FM 1709/Southlake Boulevard to the Southlake city limit through Keller city limits to Emerald Hills Way in North Richland Hills. The TxDOT project was scheduled for fiscal year 2025-26 and construction would begin in FY 2026-27, according to Southlake documents.

However, in March, Southlake officials learned the timetable had been pushed up and now approval of the TxDOT project is scheduled for November 2025 and construction could start in early 2026. No end date was listed by TxDOT.

The city awarded an engineering service agreement with Kimley-Horn in an amount not to exceed $125,000 for professional services for the development of construction documents and construction phases on June 18.

A closer look

TxDOT does not include any beautification elements in the project, such as landscaping, according to city documents. Southlake would be responsible for urban design improvements, which includes plants, decorative boulders and stones, irrigation and traffic control, as similar to those on Southlake Boulevard.

The city estimates it will cost $900,000 to $1 million based on the linear-foot cost of landscape improvements on similar projects, and $12,000 per year for maintaining it.

What’s happening?

There is no current funding for the project for the city of Southlake in the 2023-24 fiscal year. This project was scheduled for funding for design in FY 2025-26, according to city documents. Southlake is using Capital Improvement Program residuals, which is money from completed projects returned to the general fund, to pay for the Kimley-Horn contract.