Collin County Commissioners to consider Outer Loop path

by Bill Baumbach of of The Collin County Observer

The Collin County Commissioners Court, meeting as the Collin County Toll Road Authority, are scheduled to consider a re-alignment of the south-eastern leg of the proposed Outer Loop.

The section to be discussed runs from FM 6 south to the Rockwall County line.

The re-alignment is planned to avoid the road cutting into the High Meadows Estates subdivision in Josephine and Lavon.

The commissioners will also hear an update from the engineering firm of CH2MHill on the status of this section of the Outer Loop (large PDF).

The engineers will present 3 different alignments (paths) and ask the court to choose one.

All three alignments will affect some residential property. It is too early in the process to know how many eminent domain condemnations will be required to construct this 5-mile section of the future Loop 9.

After the court approves the preferred alignment, they will schedule a public meeting to present the plan to the local citizens. The public meeting will likely be held in July or August. Typically, these public meetings are conducted by the engineers and have little or no effect on the final plans. Frequently no commissioners even attend the public meeting.

Commissioner Hoagland did attend the last Outer Loop public meeting that was on the alignment on the eastern leg north of FM 6. The meeting, held in 2006 drew a large and largely hostile crowd of several hundred citizens.