More than $10 million in federal funding was approved for new bicycle-pedestrian projects in Tarrant County, officials said.
The street projects in Fort Worth, Crowley and Richland Hills are intended to aid in transportation and safety, officials said.
The projects were announced after the Regional Transportation Council, an independent policy group of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, approved $59.6 million on June 12 for 12 projects in Tarrant, Dallas, Collin and Denton counties as part of the 2025 Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program for North Texas.
The Tarrant County projects, including a Safe Routes to School application in Richland Hills, will be supplemented by about $5 million in local matching funds.
“These funded improvements will connect people who choose walking and bicycling as modes of transportation to schools, transit services and major hubs of employment in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,” Kevin Kokes, program manager for the council of governments’ land-use and mobility options team, said in a statement.
The funded projects will improve safety and air quality while reducing traffic congestion, Kokes said.
Fort Worth was awarded more than $4 million for the McPherson-Summer Creek Safe Streets project on the southwest side near Crowley.
The city of Fort Worth, which will contribute about $3.5 million, including bond funds, intends to build shared-use paths and on-street bicycle facilities to improve connections to North Crowley High School and Summer Creek Middle School. Traffic signal and crosswalk improvements are also planned as well as a new pedestrian bridge.
North Crowley High School, 9100 S. Hulen St., Fort Worth, seen on Oct. 4, 2024. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)
Improvements will occur on Summer Creek Drive from West Risinger Road to Sunflower Ridge Road; on McPherson Boulevard from the Chisholm Trail Parkway to South Hulen Street; and on South Hulen from Nightingale Drive to McPherson.
Kevin Isu, a Fort Worth senior professional engineer, said the funds will improve road safety in the area.
“The project is the design and construction of a series of bike lanes and safety improvements along McPherson Boulevard and Summer Creek Road,” Isu said. “It has also been identified within a high-injury network and improves mobility and safety.”
Meanwhile, the city of Crowley plans to construct a new path as part of the Main Street Trail extension after the city was awarded about $1.8 million. The project, which includes $464,000 in local funding, will run from FM 731/Crowley Road to Bicentennial Park.
In Richland Hills, $4.7 million was awarded for sidewalk and intersection improvements to enable more students to walk to Cheney Hills Elementary School. Richland Hills officials will contribute more than $1.1 million to the project.
The area is bounded by Baker Boulevard to the north, Scruggs Park Drive to the east, Airport Freeway to the south, and Dreeben Drive to the west.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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