Avondale-Haslet Road widening project has begun. When will it be ready?
Construction crews will be widening a two-mile stretch of Avondale-Haslet Road over the next two years as part of a larger project aimed at creating a continuous east-west thoroughfare in far north Fort Worth.
The two lane road will be expanded into four lanes, and traffic signals will be installed at the Willow Springs and Sendera Ranch intersections. A 10-foot pedestrian and bike lane is included in the project.
Jeffery Neal, a senior project manager for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, said this project will pick up where the original road widening project ended about 10 years ago. The two-mile segment stretches from Willow Creek Drive to John Day Road.
Work began in late March, a month behind schedule, and is expected to finish in 2028.
The $72.6 million funding comes from the 2018 and 2022 Fort Worth bond programs and the 2021 Tarrant County transportation bond.
Neal said the work is necessary in order to keep up with the immense growth in north Tarrant County.
“This is really the time when all of these improvements really, really need to take place,” Neal said. “So we’re taking advantage of this overall construction period to be able to get relief for this area.”
There is $1.5 billion being invested in northern Tarrant County infrastructure aimed at building a spine for residents and commuters, who have voiced concerns at the overall project’s years-long timeline at multiple public meetings.
Part of the trouble is that the project crosses through multiple jurisdictions, Neal said. Though it forces coordination among several government bodies, Neal said it also means more funding is available to bring improvements down the pipeline.
“It can make it complicated, but in the end, we’re all working together to try to deliver these improvements as quickly as possible,” Neal said. “We recognize the need in the area, the frustration with the lack of new capacity. We’re trying to respond to that. We’re trying to address that as quickly as possible.”