\u201cSometimes I\u2019ll see a train on the block, and I won\u2019t attempt to leave,\u201d said Deb Watkins, who has lived in the neighborhood for 16 years. \u201cI\u2019ll just wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, the newly built, train-track-skirting Shelton Ranch Road offers the community more than just convenience. It fully remakes their routines, residents said.<\/p>\n
The new route runs south for about 1.4 miles before connecting to Peden Road. The project cost the county just under $2.5 million, county officials said.<\/p>\n
Watkins described being delayed by trains for up to three hours, adding that trains often stop for long periods of time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She attended a Dec. 18 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the road, where Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez, the community\u2019s sole local representative, celebrated the road\u2019s construction crew and the change it will bring to the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoads and bridges aren\u2019t usually the most sexy topics, and they don\u2019t catch headlines,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cBut I\u2019ll tell you, it\u2019s the most important thing I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
In recent years, the subdivision has been a filming location for Taylor Sheridan\u2019s \u201cLandman,\u201d as the fictional home of Tommy Norris, played by Billy Bob Thornton. This provided another motive for having the road built fast, said Tracey Knight, Ramirez\u2019s chief of staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was kind of fun the first year that they were filming, but the second year, (residents) kind of got tired with only having one way in and one way out, and then having the film crews in here,\u201d Knight said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Far-North-Fort-Worth-6--1024x683.jpg\")
The Vista Ranch subdivision holds 220 houses and sits in northwest Tarrant County in Fort Worth\u2019s unincorporated territory. (Drew Shaw | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
The road wasn\u2019t just wanted for convenience, Ramirez said; it was necessary for safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In an emergency, a stopped train is a significant barrier to first responders. While no such emergency has happened yet in the neighborhood, it remained a risk, said Clint Magee, a resident of Vista Ranch for 20 years.<\/p>\n
Magee has long fought for the new route. He was convinced a new road was needed a few years after moving in, when, on his evening commute home, he was stopped by a train for eight hours from about 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., Magee said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have missed flights and work,\u201d Watkins said. \u201cKids coming home from school, they\u2019re stuck, and they\u2019re on the bus.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Far-North-Fort-Worth-4--1024x683.jpg\")
Vista Ranch resident Deb Watkins poses next to Shelton Ranch Road with a picture of her late husband, who was on the board for the Shelton Ranch Road project for two years until he died in July. (Drew Shaw | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
Neighborhoods that only have one route in and out, such as Vista Ranch, are pervasive in unincorporated land, Ramirez said. The areas aren\u2019t subject to regulation by any city, and no governing body can deny a development or how it\u2019s built.<\/p>\n
Ramirez said building the new road became a priority shortly after he was elected in 2022. He started digging into the thick \u201cTinsley Lane\u201d folder sitting among the pending projects in his office and saw the years\u2019 worth of residents\u2019 complaints.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It took about two years to purchase the land for the road from the private landowners. After breaking ground, it took seven months to build, he said.<\/p>\n
The road also paves the way for anticipated development, Ramirez said, as the ranchland to Fort Worth\u2019s north is increasingly being filled with new subdivisions<\/a>. While the road is currently two lanes, there\u2019s room to expand it into four lanes later on.<\/p>\n \u201cEventually, this entire area is going to be built out,\u201d he said. \u201cSo if we can control the pace of infrastructure installation, that\u2019s our biggest responsibility. It\u2019s to make sure the roads come before the rooftops.\u201d<\/p>\n Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @shawlings601<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n