Celina City Council decided to rework plans for improvements on Glendenning Parkway after residents shared concerns about traffic during construction.
Glendenning Parkway is set to undergo a series of spot repairs plus a surface treatment, according to a presentation by Engineering Director William Janney.
City officials voted to expand the scope of the project to include Old Log Trail and CR 53 at an Oct. 13 meeting.
Before work starts on Glendenning Parkway, crews will convert part of CR 53 to concrete and connect it to the Glen Crossing neighborhood via a concrete extension of Old Log Trail.
This will give the Glen Crossing residents an additional access point once Glendenning Parkway closes for construction, Janney said.
How we got here
Council approved a construction contract for improvements along Glendenning Parkway at a March 10 meeting.
Crews planned to start work in August and wrap up the project in early 2027, according to the city’s social media.
City officials postponed plans for the project after residents expressed concerns about limited access to Glen Crossing at an Aug. 10 community meeting.
City staff decided to connect Old Log Trail with CR 53 to give the Glen Crossing residents another way into the neighborhood.
Crews could either extend Old Log Trail with flex base, a material similar to gravel, or build both Old Log Trail and parts of CR 53 in concrete, Janney said.
Using flex base would have taken an extra month and cost $72,825 on top of the original $1.3 million, bringing the project total to $1.4 million, according to Janney’s presentation.
Using concrete will add 6 months for design work and 12 months for paving to the overall project timeline, and it will cost an estimated $3 million, increasing the price of the project to $4.3 million.
The verdict
Council chose to build a permanent concrete road at Old Log Trail and pave parts of CR 53 despite the increased cost and extended construction timeline.
The Old Log Trail and CR 53 project was previously scheduled in the city’s five-year capital improvement plan, which outlines future construction projects, but was removed, Janney explained.
Putting Old Log Trail and CR 53 back on the city’s construction docket as part of the Glendenning Parkway improvement project “provides a safer crossing for the public,” Assistant City Manager Kimberly Brawner said.
In addition to some Glen Crossing residents, representatives from Methodist Celina Medical Center and Celina ISD preferred that Old Log Trail be completed in concrete instead of flex base, Mayor Ryan Tubbs said.
“The residents that lived there, it seemed better for them,” Tubbs said.
Looking ahead
Altogether, design and construction on Old Log Trail, CR 53 and Glendenning Parkway will take roughly 26 months, Janney said.
Based on that timeline, crews will break ground on Old Log Trail and CR 53 in 2027, begin work on Glendenning Parkway in 2028 and wrap up construction in late 2028 or early 2029.
