Dir. of Eng. memo to Council-rev. Thoroughfare Plan
THE.CITY.OF
COPPELL
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1\ 8
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Mayor and City Council
FROM:
Kenneth M. Griffin, P.E., Director of Engineering and Public Works
DATE:
October 10, 2006
REF:
Consider approval of an ordinance revising the Thoroughfare
Plan to add the proposed Lesley Drive as a two-lane undivided
collector street (C2U), in its entirety from IH 635 to Dividend
Drive; and authorizing the Mayor to sign.
Recently, members of city staff have been meeting with the developer of the
'Lesley' tract at the northwest comer ofIH 635 and Belt Line Road. In an effort to
provide better ingress and egress to the site, the developer approached
representatives of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) requesting
that they allow a connection to the existing westbound ramp onto IH 635 from
Belt Line Road.
TxDOT does not allow any road to intersect its frontage roads unless the road is
contained on a city's Thoroughfare Plan. Also, TxDOT does not allow any road
to intersect a ramp providing either entrance on to or exit off of a highway.
Because of these requirements, the developer has requested that the city consider
revising its Thoroughfare Plan to show a roadway from IH 635 northward to a
proposed extension of Dividend Drive. Because a roadway in this general
location will improve traffic circulation in and around the proposed development
of the 'Lesley' tract, staff is in support of the request from the developer to revise
our Thoroughfare Plan.
If Council approves this ordinance, the developer will then be required by TxDOT
to remove the existing ramp leading from Belt Line Road to westbound IH 635
and reconstruct a new frontage road and ramp.
In meetings with TxDOT that I attended with the developer and the developer's
engineer last week, it was very clear what TxDOT was trying to accomplish with
regard to allowing access from the 'Lesley' tract to IH 635.
First and foremost, TxDOT does not allow any access to ramps; therefore, the
developer will be required to remove the existing ramp and construct what
TxDOT will classifY as a frontage road. That frontage road will be in the general
alignment and location of the existing ramp. Once TxDOT designates that as a
frontage road, the developer will be allowed to connect a thoroughfare i.e., the
proposed Lesley Drive, to that frontage road. Proceeding west from Lesley Drive,
the developer will then be required to build a new ramp entrance from the
frontage road to westbound IH 635. Because of spacing requirements, the new
entrance onto IH 635 will be further west than the existing entrance.
The end product of the frontage road with the ramp will be very similar to the
existing ramp. However, the important thing to TxDOT is that a portion of the
rebuilt access to IH 635 will be classified as an access road which allows for the
intersection of streets that are on a city's Thoroughfare Plan.
The developer's engineer, Pacheco Koch, has provided a preliminary cost estimate
for the removal of the existing ramp and the reconstruction of an access road and
a new ramp in an amount slightly more than one million dollars.
As the 'Lesley' tract development progresses, Council will see additional agenda
items conceming agreements between the City of Coppell and TxDOT and
potentially the developer to allow for the construction of a new frontage road and
ramp and the connection of a thoroughfare street to the new frontage road.
Staff recommends approval of the addition to the city's Thoroughfare Plan of a
C2U to connect IH 635 with the proposed extension of Dividend Drive. Staffwill
be available to answer any questions at the council meeting.