City leaders got a potential look at some improvements that could be incorporated along SH 5 during a McKinney City Council work session in July.
In a nutshell
McKinney Engineering Director Gary Graham provided an update July 7 on the upcoming project that will be led by the Texas Department of Transportation. The improvement project will come in two phases, Graham said.
The first phase, which is expected to start in 2027, plans to reconstruct and widen SH 5 as a divided four-lane road between McMakin Street and Power House Street, according to a city document. The second phase will be led by the city and will focus on median landscaping and other enhancements along the corridor, Graham said.
That phase isn’t expected to start until TxDOT’s first phase is complete, Graham said. Council members will have the opportunity to provide input for preferred improvements over the coming years.
“Staff will be in front of council again multiple times to talk and discuss about these Phase 2 improvements and get your input and fingerprints all over what we ultimately decide to do there,” Graham said.
Proposed enhancements include median landscaping, streetscape elements, vertical monuments or gateway signage, according to a staff presentation.
The background
Project officials are now planning for an enhanced at-grade crossing between East Virginia Street and East Louisiana Street instead of a deck park that was called the Lower 5 Plaza. Council members voted to redirect efforts from the plaza after $15 million in federal funding was rescinded last year.
At the time, the North Central Texas Council of Governments had programmed an additional $22 million toward the Lower 5 Plaza project, Graham said. Since the project fell through, that money went back to NCTCOG, but it's still available, Graham said.
“It’s still sitting there available for use on our project, and so we’ve been having conversations with TxDOT and with [NCTCOG] about how we pull that back and what elements would we pull that back onto this project for,” he said.
Some of that funding could be used to pay for certain enhancements along the corridor during the second phase, Graham said. Proposed enhancements include street lighting, turn lanes, drainage improvements and hardscape improvements, according to the presentation.
These enhancements were always planned as part of the overall project, but they are currently planned to be paid for by the city, he said.
“We will work with TxDOT to finalize the cost estimates for all these,” Graham said. “TxDOT will put numbers on it. That would be the agreement that we work with [NCTCOG] to identify all that and get that funding towards the project.”
One more thing
While city officials were working with TxDOT to add additional pedestrian crossings along SH 5, TxDOT has denied the request, Graham said. The request was denied because the corridor did not meet pedestrian volume requirements, he said.
“We asked for the additional yellow pedestrian signs to do what we call a rectangular rapid flashing beacon,” Graham said. “That is a flashing beacon that’s mounted on the side. It’s pedestrian-activated. It has a high compliance rate for motorists. When they see that flashing, they know pedestrians there and they tend to slow down.”
City staff are now working with TxDOT to add two-stage crossings at six locations along the road.
- McMakin Street
- Dorsey Street
- Gerrish Street
- Colorado Street
- Ida Street
- Erwin Avenue
Two-stage crossings allow pedestrians to cross one side of the street and pause at a median before crossing the second side of the street.
“We continue to push this,” Graham said. “This is not approved yet, but we continue to push this with TxDOT and try to make enhancements because we recognize these other crossings are important throughout the corridor.”
