Frontier Bridge resolutions, Celina Record

Commissioners Court approves Celina, Prosper resolutions for Frontier bridge Lisa Ferguson, lferguson@starlocalmedia.com Feb 24, 2016 It’s been a long and bumpy road, but officials in Celina and Prosper finally have in place an agreement about an overpass that will be built on Frontier Parkway. The bridge is part of a large reconstruction project anticipated to cost between $16 million and $21 million. The work will be done on a well-traveled section of roadway, also known as Farm to Market 1461, between Preston Road and the Dallas North Tollway. On Feb. 15, Celina Mayor Sean Terry and Prosper Mayor Ray Smith appeared before the Collin County Commissioners Court, which approved both municipalities’ resolutions about the funding, construction and future maintenance of the overpass. “Prosper stuck to their guns, Celina stuck to their guns, and I think we got a win-win situation for everybody,” Terry said. “I wished it would have happened a lot sooner,” Smith said. “Everybody was looking out for their best interest and I think we came to a good solution and resolution, and it’s just going to benefit both communities.” No construction schedule has been set and work has not yet begun on the project, which will be managed by Collin County after having been in the planning and development stages for several years. When it is complete, Frontier Parkway will be a six-lane divided roadway and will feature the overpass above the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rails. Given current traffic demands, only four of the six lanes will initially be built on Frontier Parkway, along with an extra-wide median that can be altered to accommodate the additional two lanes in the future. “Getting four lanes of concrete between Preston and the DNT, how do you not get excited about that?” Smith said. “I’m sure the residents at Light Farms are happy, and the [Prosper High School] parents and kids are going to be happy” once the roadwork is finished. Safety, he said, “is a core value for Prosper and I’m sure it is for Celina, too, and this just helps increase the safety of driving on our roads that are connecting our communities.” Celina will contribute $3.97 million in Collin County bond funds to the project, while Prosper will allocate $3.65 million. Regional Toll Revenue funds as well as monies contributed by the Regional Transportation Council and Collin County will cover the bulk of the project’s cost. In its resolution, Celina agreed to support the construction of the bridge with certain provisions, including that it must feature a two-lane service road on its north side that borders the city, so as not to hinder growth along what is envisioned there to become commercial property. Prosper in its resolution agreed to accept maintenance responsibilities for the bridge, which was long a point of contention between the municipalities. The outcome should benefit Celina residents, Terry said, “because we don’t have to maintain it or use our tax money that we’re not creating out there today to help maintain a bridge.” Terry credited Collin County Commissioner Susan Fletcher, who represents the area and has been working closely with Prosper and Celina on the project, for “helping bring a lot of this together.” Fletcher said she is “thankful” that commissioners approved the resolutions. “I understand from Celina’s point that they weren’t getting any tax revenue off the road, so they really didn’t want the bridge” to be built above grade, she said, despite that Prosper had passed a bond initiative for funds to build an above-grade crossing. “Working through those issues and hearing the concerns with both … I thought it was really important for me to come in and be very even-handed with my cities. It’s a mutual-boundary road,” she added. “It’s been a longstanding issue and just building consensus … it was a joy to get it done.” Terry shared Fletcher’s sentiment: “I’m glad to get it off the plate because it’s taken a lot of the (city) staff’s time, the (North Central Texas) Council of Government’s time and the county’s time, so now we can move forward and give a road to our citizens that is better than it is today.”