Major Allen thoroughfare to be extended More of Ridgeview to be constructed from Cottonwood Creek to Chelsea Blvd.
By Garrett Cook
Ridgeview Drive, a major arterial road for Allen, continues to slowly be fleshed out.
The Allen City Council recently approved a $4.4 million contract to construct four lanes of roadway from east of Watters Road where the road ends now to Chelsea Boulevard, as well as a six-lane bridge across Cottonwood Creek.
Frisco-based Mario Sinacola & Sons Excavating Inc. outbid eight other proposals, including offers from RKM Utility Services Inc. and Rebcon Inc.
The new extension will provide a key connection to Preston Elementary School, which just opened in August. The new school will sit on the southeast corner of Ridgeview and Chelsea, once construction on the new segment is complete.
As the city develops the 121 corridor, Ridgeview will move traffic generated by commercial development and serve as a distinct line between commercial and residential development in Allen’s northwest quadrant.
Though Ridgeview is designated as a six-lane thoroughfare according to the city of Allen’s master plan, until activity picks up in the area, only four lanes will be constructed at a time, according to City Engineering Director Chris Flanigan.
“A common strategy throughout the region, building only four lanes at the onset, allows us to stretch our resources further and construct longer segments of road at a time,” he said. “Since six lanes is not needed initially, we construct four lanes with a wider median. In this way, the two additional lanes can be added to the center when needed in the future.
“Future traffic volumes will indicate when the roadway needs additional lanes. Changing traffic patterns and increased volumes correlate to developed land use – much of which has yet to be determined by future development along S.H. 121.
Since 2009, the city has been working their way east from Custer Road where Ridgeview Drive began. The road has been built in segments from Custer to Alma Drive, then from Alma to Watters Road. Now, the new segment will pick up where Ridgeview left off, about 1,100 feet east of Watters, and head northeast towards Chelsea.
Terrell previously said in May 2016 during a ribbon-cutting that unveiled a new section of the roadway that Ridgeview will eventually stretch to U.S. Highway 75, and “then it’ll be up to TxDOT and a few other people to get us over U.S. 75 and into Fairview at that point.”
The majority of the project’s funding -- $3 million – will stem from bonds from the 2016 election. About another million will be provided by bonds from previous years and water and sewage impact fees. Collin County will issue $443,000 worth of bonds through their arterial road partnership.
According to Flanigan, construction will commence in November and wrap up in August 2018.