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Southlake Boulevard project moving along
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
Southlake could be just weeks away from an important mile marker in the Southlake Boulevard project.
City officials said the construction of the deceleration lanes should be complete by mid-summer as eight of the 14 have been constructed.
With the median construction and median landscaping already complete, that would put the project at roughly three-fourths complete with only the sidewalk improvements remaining.
The $3.8 million project aims to support the city council’s strategic focus areas of safety and security, mobility, infrastructure, quality development and partnerships.
In 2008, Southlake completed a detailed urban design study, which included a median plan for the road. The study includes recommendations for the location and design criteria for raised medians with left-turn lanes. Its goals are to improve the city’s visual character, to create opportunities for new public places and to enhance the quality of development and scenic areas.
“The city council placed a priority on this project several years ago to improve the safety of the roadway for commuters traveling on Southlake Boulevard,” Taylor said. “When the road construction is complete later this year, it’s anticipated that traffic will move more safely down Southlake Boulevard. Construction of sidewalks along Southlake Boulevard will provide the residents of Southlake the much-needed continuity along Southlake Boulevard to safely walk throughout our community. Filling in the sidewalk gaps also addresses one of the main requests in the 2011 Citizen Survey.”
Ninety-one percent of the survey’s respondents listed sidewalks as a topic of high importance. Eight-foot sidewalks will be constructed along the length of each deceleration lane between Pearson Lane and Commerce Street to help with connectivity and pedestrian safety.
The locations for the deceleration lanes are the intersections of: Jellico Court East, Jellico Court West, Brock Drive, Meadowlark Lane, Waterford Drive, Stonelakes Place, Timberlake Place, Lake Crest Drive, Bicentennial Park Drive, Diamond Boulevard, Foxborough Lane, Miron Drive, Westwood Drive and Commerce Street.
The project’s landscaping component includes ground cover, shrubs, flowering trees and evergreen trees in the Commercial Retail Zone, the Estate Residential Zone and the Town Square Zone. Canopy trees and seasonal color is also part of the Town Square Zone.
The raised medians have been constructed at six sections: Section 1 (the western city limits to Randol Mill Avenue/Davis Boulevard); Section 2 (Randol Mill Avenue/Davis Boulevard to Southridge Lakes Parkway/Waterford Drive); Section 3 (Southridge Lakes Parkway/Waterford Drive to Bicentennial Drive); Section 4 (Bicentennial Drive to Foxborough Lane); Section 5 (Foxborough Lane to Village Center Drive) and Section 6 (Village Center Drive to Nolen Drive).
Taylor said the only delay in the project has involved the medians and the deceleration lanes.
“Completion of the median and deceleration lane construction has had several delays, mainly because of franchise utility conflicts,” Taylor said. “Staff has coordinated with the private utility companies for nearly three years to relocate any existing fiber, cable, poles, etc. that may be in conflict with the construction of the deceleration lanes. The good news is that the contractor is now able to work at four of the five remaining intersections and plans to complete construction of the deceleration lanes by mid-summer.”
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