A new massive development in far southeastern Wise County has entities scrambling to meet the demands of the growth.
The Rolling V Ranch was, up until a few years ago, a working cattle ranch located in the southwest corner of U.S. 287 and State Highway 114, connecting the cities of Rhome and Newark.
A developer purchased 3,600 acres of that land and has started the process of transforming it into what will be known as Reunion Texas, a master-planned community with more than 10,000 single family homes.
At buildout, that's expected to yield at least 30-thousand new residents in what is currently a rather sparsely populated part of the Metroplex
As such, U.S. 287, which is already starting to get clogged, will likely become more clogged in the next few years, and TxDOT is actively addressing that probability.
The work would be done in two phases, starting with the segment between Avondale-Haslet Rd. (FM 718) and I-35W.
"This project proposes adding a mainlane to U.S. 287 in each direction and the addition and reconstruction of continuous one-way frontage roads in the project area," says Bethany Kurtz, TxDOT spokeswoman. "As part of this work, existing interchanges would be reconstructed and several new intersections are proposed."
The second phase would address the roadway north of Avondale-Haslet Rd. to Rhome.
"It would add and reconstruct frontage roads from Avondale Hazlet Rd. up to Pioneer Rd. in Rhome," says Kurtz. "This will also include several new overpass/underpass intersections and reconstruction of Avondale-Haslet Road's intersection with 287."
While in an unincorporated area of Wise County, the development is located in the extra-territorial jurisdiction of Rhome, a city of about 2,000 people.
The big task ahead for the city is to spruce up its downtown area to attract all those new residents.
"We want to make sure that we have spaces on this side of the highway that draw folks from that area to come over here," says Cynthia Northrop, Rhome city administrator. "We have to create special unique places, and the council is working on that, looking at a downtown Main Street or downtown district."
Another thing Northrop says the city could do is to transform the old flour factory where Gold Medal flour was once manufactured in.
"I'd love to see a developer take some interest," says Northrop, "because there could be restaurants, shops, or a pub in there that would really tie in well with the vision that we have for our downtown area."
The first homes in Reunion are expected to start going up sometime later this year.
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