Melissa -- With traffic on Hwy 121 in northern Collin County increasing at an alarming rate, the first meeting was held May 5 to begin discussions regarding turning Hwy 121 into a four-lane highway from the Fannin County - Collin County line all the way to its junction with U.S. 75.
For commuters in Fannin and Grayson counties who must navigate this increasingly dangerous artery to the metroplex on a daily basis, this is the critical improvement in transportation you've been waiting for -- but the wait will go on for several more years as congestion on the current two-lane Hwy 121 continues to snarl traffic during peak periods. In a best-case scenario, it will be late 2021 or early 2022 before four-lane traffic flows smoothly from the Fannin County line all the way to U.S. 75.
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) held an open house public meeting in Melissa on Thursday, May 5 to begin gathering public comment on proposed improvements to State Highway 121 from south of Farm-to-Market Road 455, just north of the Collin County Outer Loop, to County Road 635. FM 455 is the road to Anna, while CR 635 marks the boundary between Collin County and Fannin County.
This is an extension of the current project to widen Hwy 121 from its junction with U.S. 75 through the Melissa - Anna area at an estimated cost of $43.8 million.
While funding has yet to be secured to widen Hwy 121 from FM 455 to CR 635, the cost of the project is approximately $72 million; work is expected to start in 2018 and be completed in three years.
According to TxDOT, the proposed Hwy 121 improvements would include reconstructing and widening the existing two-lane undivided road to a rural four-lane divided highway consisting of 12-foot wide travel lanes, a 10-foot wide outside shoulder, a four-foot wide inside shoulder, and a 40-foot wide grass median.
Grade-separated intersections (overpasses) are proposed at FM 455 and CR 2862, however no mention was made of the busy intersection of TX 160 and Hwy 121.
This 11.4-mile project would require 168 acres of additional right-of-way; three residences and one barn would be displaced.
