The city of Allen is improving road safety by upgrading traffic signals, adding turn lanes and installing better detection technology with a $4.6 million grant from the Texas Department of Transportation through its Highway Safety Improvement Plan.
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Utilizing TxDOT funding for these improvements allows the city to upgrade streets and improve safety without increasing the tax burden on residents, Director of Engineering Chris Flanigan said.
“In a resource-constrained environment, whenever we’re able to benefit from funding outside of the city limits, that’s always something we’re talking about,” Flanigan said.
City officials identified 16 intersections for improvement, Flanigan said. Work has been completed on all intersections except:
Century Parkway and Bethany DriveGreenville Avenue and Bethany DriveGreenville Avenue and Main StreetHow it works
Although highways are mentioned in the project’s name, all roadways under TxDOT’s jurisdiction are eligible, Flanigan said.
City staff used three years worth of data and TxDOT’s risk calculator to identify intersections that needed improvements, Transportation Manager Asma Tuly said.
“We look at the past three years of data, how many crashes, how many fatalities and serious injuries we have, and then come up with a solution,” Tuly said.
The city was also able to save money by combining all 16 of the intersections under one project, instead of repairing one at a time and hiring separate contractors for each project, Tuly said.
What’s next
Contractors will begin work on the three remaining intersections next month and construction is expected to wrap up in this fall, Flanigan said.
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