Collin County and the Cities of Celina and Prosper will share the cost of a $32 million expansion of Frontier Parkway. The road near the boundary between the two cities is currently two lanes and runs outside Prosper High School and Prosper ISD's 12,000 seat Children's Health Stadium.
"After people were trying to leave the stadium on Friday nights, I had some of the most colorful emails you'll ever read," says Prosper Mayor Ray Smith.
The expansion will add a second lane in each direction for two miles from the Dallas North Tollway to Preston Road. The highway will be divided with space in the median to expand the highway to six lanes in the future. Frontier Parkway will also be built with an overpass above the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks just east of the stadium.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Prosper increased from 9,527 in 2010 to an estimated 31,100 this year. The population of Celina was 6,315 in 2010. The city says the number has now increased to more than 30,000.
"We're just trying to keep up with the infrastructure, the water, sewer, roads, parks, churches, and the school district," Smith says.
"Frisco's growth just boomed us," says Celina Mayor Sean Terry. "We knew that was coming. Great leadership before us could really see we're Preston Road and the [Dallas North Tollway]. It's going to come one day."
Last year, Celina received designation from the governor's office as the first "gigabit city" in Texas. The city had approved an initiative to provide access to one-gigabit upload and download speeds to all residents.
"Infrastructure's become such a huge buzzword," Terry says. "Now, we think we're kind of ahead of that."
Construction on Frontier Pkwy is expected to take two years.
"This road has always been so important because you have the high school here," Terry says. "Any east-west connectivity you can get, as you saw with 121 and George Bush Turnpike, is huge."
NTTA is now building a $65.8 million interchange to expand the Dallas North Tollway north beyond Highway 380. NTTA also plans to expand the tollway almost 14 miles to the north.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow NewsRadio 1080 KRLD