3351
Fair Oaks Ranch resident John Dewey said he’s seen his share of accidents along Ralph Fair Road where Old Fredericksburg Road intersects, just off the Interstate 10 access road.
From maps draped across tables in the TxDOT open house last week, the state’s highway construction agency realized it, too.
A crew of engineers, planners and other staff from the Texas Department of Transportation were in Fair Oaks Ranch Sept. 17 to share designs for a reworked threemile section of FM 3351, from its intersection with I-10 to Desperado Way, just outside the Fair Oaks Ranch city limits.
A steady stream of Fair Oaks residents ventured into the First Baptist Church of Fair Oaks Ranch to peruse the large display maps, while a video displayed what the reworked roadway will look like, once funding is secured and construction can begin. From I-10 to Camp Stanley’s main gate, FM 3351 would be widened from the current two- lane undivided roadway to a six-lane divided roadway with three travel lanes in each direction, separated by a raised median.
From Camp Stanley’s main gate to Desperado Way, FM 3351 would be widened from a two-lane undivided roadway to a four-lane undivided roadway with two travel lanes in each direction and a center left-turn lane.
The raised median captured Dewey’s attention — and gained his approval.
“I’m glad to see this,” Dewey said. “I think this has been needed for some time, particularly that section from I-10 ... to stop all the people turning left or going straight across Old Fredericksburg Road.
“When they put that divider in that will solve that problem,” he said. “Personally, I’m very glad to see it. This needs to happen yesterday.”
Laura Lopez, TxDOT public information officer, said it could be another four years before any work begins on the three-mile stretch that drew favorable comments from many open house attendees.
“From I-10 to Desperado Way, we’re in the early environmental stages so we have a meeting to show the public what has been proposed and to get their feedback,” Lopez said.
The project is not funded, she said, placing a 2028 date on hope for a construction start.
“We hope to have a decision by next year, once we’re done with the environmentals, once we have public feedback,” she said. “So, it’s going to be a little bit beyond 2028 before we actually break ground.”
Fair Oaks Ranch Mayor Greg Maxton said area residents have seen the increase in traffic coming down FM 3351. Construction won’t start for another four or five years, while traffic will continue to increase during that time frame.
“The biggest concern with this area, or this project, is the crossroad at Old Fredericksburg Road and how unsafe that area is,” he said. “Anybody that uses Ralph Fair Road (FM 3351) ... knows that that’s a dangerous intersection.”
Maxton expressed concern about the design of Ralph Fair Road as it crosses into Fair Oaks Ranch.
“From Desperado Way all the way up to Amman Road, we’d like to be a part of that,” Maxton said. “We could help with input of what we know from our traffic patterns within the city, and how that would help in the design of the future of what Ralph Fair Road should look like.”
Once TxDOT begins its design process, if you’re not part of the process then it’s too late for valuable input.
“It would be beneficial to be a part of the design would be beneficial not just for Fair Oaks Ranch, but for TxDOT as well,” he said.
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