After a nearly yearlong delay, Collin County will take a step forward in building the Outer Loop freeway that will run east to west through the county.
Last year, four property owners rejected offers from the county as it went section-by-section acquiring the right of ways for a section that would run from the Dallas North Tollway to Preston Road.
"I believe very much in private property rights. And anytime you talk about a disruption, it's hard," Collin County Commissioner Susan Fletcher said.
Thankfully, she said, in this case all four parcels of land being taken by eminent domain are green space owned by investors. While they held on to get the best value for their land, she said she believed all will benefit when a freeway borders their properties.
"Once it's actually built, the land value of those investors is going to skyrocket," Fletcher said.
But for now, she's worried about tax payers and the cost of the project if they hold off too long.
"Land values continue to rise. Construction costs continue to rise. So every day that we wait you might have development that could happen and potentially close a corridor or cost a whole lot more money to get that land. Right now while it's green field, it's so much more important that we acquire that land and get it built as soon as we can,” Fletcher said.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
And while growth and change could always have opponents in areas that have long been rural, many who live and work nearby said they could see how another east to west corridor will be necessary.
Right now, U.S. Highway 380 is the only major route through the county that runs that direction.
"I don't think anyone really likes the thought of it, but I think it's something that's pretty necessary for as much as this has grown out here. We've been out here for about five years now. When we got here there was nothing out here, and now it's just blown up," said Kim Goldschmidt, who’s a veterinary technician at Total Care Animal Hospital along 380.
She watches the traffic pass by the hospital's window each morning.
"It's pretty bad. A lot of heavy traffic… Just a lot of trucks and through traffic," Goldschmidt said.
And before the Coit Road expansion, she drove it each day to get to and from Frisco.
"That six minute drive could take you a half hour to 45 minutes just to get through that Preston interchange. It was very frustrating," Goldschmidt said.
U.S. Highway 380 has an estimated 50,000 cars on it each day, which county leaders said will only get worse without some kind of relief as the population of Collin County tops three million over the next few decades.
