TxDOT wants to expand this busy suburban road south of Fort Worth for $85M. Have thoughts?
The Texas Department of Transportation plans to spend at least $85 million to revamp a 3.6 mile-stretch of road in a fast-changing area of south Tarrant County near Crowley.
The segment of Crowley Plover Road slated for reconstruction links Chisholm Trail Parkway and McCart Avenue, where disappearing pasture gives way to warehouses, subdivisions, and two public schools. Crowley Plover is one section of Farm-to-Market Road 1187, a 34-mile strip hooking around the southwestern outskirts of Fort Worth.
TxDOT engineers and Crowley residents acknowledge the roadway, offering one lane traveling east and another west since the mid-20th century, can no longer service the traffic needs of the community.
Crowley's population has surged almost threefold since 2000, a boom symptomatic of rapid growth across this pocket of the county. The Crowley school district plans to open a $45 million elementary school a two-minute drive south of the thoroughfare in the spring.
"I know no one likes change and growth. But this is needed," once resident commented in a community Facebook group.
TxDOT envisions a four-lane road and squeezing a minimum 52-foot median in between them. It also intends to stitch on two bike lanes to opposite sides of the road.
The agency expects to purchase 49 acres of surrounding land for right of way (it hasn't yet tallied the estimated costs for those acquisitions). The project would pose little to no threats to the surrounding area's biological, historical, or water resources, according to TxDOT assessments.
Should all go according to plan, TxDOT intends to start claiming right of way land next spring in hopes of wrapping up construction by the fall of 2031.
