DFW: US 380 freeway in Collin and Denton counties

[Echostatic]

Now that is how you do futureproofing.

[rtXC1]

That Princeton Bypass rendering is pretty impressive. I kind of expected a configuration of 3x3 lanes. But the rendering shows no less than 4x4 lanes thru the project (with multiple locations boasting 5-lane wide roadways). On top of that the frontage roads are often 3 lanes wide. That may be a good acknowledgement of just how staggering population growth has been on the North side of the DFW Metroplex.

Bicyclists and pedestrians/joggers should really like the proposed crossing over Lavon Lake. The rendering shows separate, dedicated paths for pedestrians and (I hope) bicyclists on the outboard side of the frontage roads both North and South of the proposed freeway. Pedestrians and bicyclists currently have no such access alongside the existing US-380 highway. The finished project could be really nice and scenic for joggers and bike riders.

Of course, the next step on the push towards I-30 would be how to progress the freeway through Farmersville on the other side of Lavon Lake. I'm thinking in this case they'll have to upgrade over the existing ROW. There are existing yet sub-standard exits at the intersections of TX-78 and Main Street. A scattering of existing properties too close to existing US-380 will have to be bought and removed in order to push the freeway to Greenville and the finish line of I-30. Even in Greenville a fair amount of work has to be done on the existing US-380 bypass around town to I-30. No doubt TX DOT probably already has plans drawn up for Farmersville and Greenville.

The Farmersville section will be another bypass. Alignment selection has already been chosen for this section. I think Hunt County will have to make a push to get their portion of highway upgraded.

https://www.keepitmovingdallas.com/projects/us-highways/us-380-collin-and-denton-county

[bwana39]

Collin County and Hunt are in different TxDOT districts. Paris may be overwhelmed with the US-75 upgrades in Grayson COunty.

[Bobby5280]

I'm surprised they've planned a bypass around the South side of Farmersville. They'll still have to buy and demolish some businesses and homes even for the bypass route to work. I figured it would be cheaper to just upgrade in place. At any rate, the South bypass doesn't look like it goes way out of the way from the existing US-380 alignment. The detours around McKinney and Princeton are much bigger by comparison.

From the Hunt County line to the Greenville Bypass it looks like US-380 has an average ROW width of 250'. It's possible to squeeze a 4-lane freeway and frontage roads into that ROW width with some room still to spare. It wouldn't be as optimal as a 300' wide ROW though. There is an obvious looking flare-out of ROW width in the town of Floyd at the intersection of FM-36. It's ready-made for a diamond style exit.

Paris may be overwhelmed with the US-75 upgrades in Grayson COunty.

The very least they can do is keep developers from jumping up on the edges of the existing US-380 highway, building a bunch of stuff in order to get paid to tear it down.

[Road Hog]

The highway in Hunt County is built to a different spec than the Collin County portion, 4-lane divided with a wide median. Probably not wide enough for main lanes, but at least there is preservation of ROW and the possibility of frontage roads that will be needed.

[Bobby5280]

An existing ROW width of 250' isn't optimal for a Texas-style Interstate flanked by frontage roads. In rural areas the ROW widths vary from 300' to 420' wide, or even wider than that in some locations.

A 6-lane freeway with 10' wide outer shoulders and 6' wide inner shoulders needs at least 104' of width just for those lanes. Maybe add 2 feet more to give extra space to a large Jersey barrier dividing the two directions of traffic (so it's not eating up some of the inner shoulder area). That leaves 72' of width on each side to accommodate frontage roads. A 2-lane frontage road with proper inner and outer shoulders is going to take 40' of space. The remaining 30' or so worth of "green" area has to suffice for drainage and other considerations.

I think TX DOT likes the really wide ROW foot prints for rural freeways because shit happens. If a vehicle loses control and goes into a side-skid off the highway it's best for the vehicle to have plenty of mowed grass land ahead of it where it can hopefully stop without rolling. Other vehicles break down or need to stop for various reasons. It's common for such vehicles to completely pull off the shoulder. On the 3x3 widened portion of the Turner Turnpike the main lanes plus shoulders take 120' of width. Plus there are 20' wide swaths outside the shoulders covered with gravel. I think the OTA is adding that gravel partly for drainage purposes, but to also prevent chances of a vehicle catching grass land on fire when parked on top of it.

A 6-lane freeway with frontage roads in a narrow foot print will need more Jersey barriers and/or cable barriers to confine crashes within their own roadways. Any such crashes could be more messy. Depending on how the roadways are configured and placed, vehicles crashing out or breaking down may have a harder time getting completely off the highway.