Drivers in the McKinney area have a new way to avoid the congestion of U.S. Highway 75.
The Texas Department of Transportation opened State Highway 5 at the East Fork of the Trinity River, near where Melissa meets McKinney, on Tuesday morning after several months of road closures.
"With this road being closed, it's really been a hassle, because we've had to take different routes to back to McKinney," said Ruben Villajar, who lives and makes work deliveries in the area.
The $6.2 million project involved widening the road and adding a new bridge as part of TxDOT's goal to stay ahead of the growth in Collin County.
While most are happy to now have more route options, Mike Scotti, who lives just over the bridge in McKinney, said that having so many projects at the same time seems counterproductive.
"Every thoroughfare is having some kind of construction, or they're rerouting," he said.
Scotti said semi-trailer traffic has also picked up on Highway 5 and worries about drivers exceeding the 55 mph limit now that the project is complete.
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As booming Anna and Melissa continue to bring growth to northern Collin County, as many as five TxDOT projects in the corridor will bring accessibility to an area that was once rural.
"It's grown so much," said Villajar. "It's really going to be great."
In the meantime, the majority of the work to widen U.S. 75 through McKinney is not expected to be completed until summer 2015.
