Between Denton Guyer High School to the west and Interstate 35E access to the east, Farm-to-Market Road 2181 in Corinth has always been a traffic-prone road, but neighbors say efforts to fix that are causing some serious concerns.
The Texas Department of Transportation is widening FM 2181 through most of the stretch from the Denton city line to I-35E.
Originally two lanes, the once rural road will soon expand to six lanes to better accommodate the growing area.
Neighbors in the Kensington Estate subdivision as well as others on the stretch said they look forward to the eventual better access when the project wraps up in spring 2016. But getting to that point still has them concerned.
The project has completely cut off one of the only two entrances to Kensington Estate, and the remaining one has been reduced to one lane for shared entry and exit.
Neighbors said because of that access in and out has become very difficult at certain times of the day and even worse during morning and evening rush hours when the highway backs up as well in all directions.
One resident said she’s concerned about emergency vehicles being able to get access if needed.
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And several neighbors complained that reduced sight lines at the only entrance has led to accidents and fender benders recently.
TxDOT said in a statement Thursday that safety in the area is its number one priority.
The department met with residents this week to discuss their concerns and said it plans to continue working with them as the project moves forward.
As a result of those discussions the speed limit in the construction zone has been lowered to 30 miles per hour, additional signage has been added and crews have started expediting the paving process to improve access to the subdivision sooner; working late into the evening on Wednesday and Thursday.
“We welcome public input on our operations and do everything in our power to make accommodations wherever and whenever possible,” said TxDOT Public Information Officer Michelle Releford in a statement.
The project began in February with an estimated price tag of $23.8 million.
