Crews add a turn lane and signals under I-35W at Robson Ranch Road while TxDOT plans a $233 million rebuild of the corridor

Drivers who use the I-35W underpass at Robson Ranch Road and Crawford Road in southern Denton County are getting a stopgap fix while they wait for a full rebuild of the interchange.

Construction started in mid-October on a center turn lane under the overpass, the Cross Timbers Gazette reported this week, and traffic signals are going in on each side of I-35W. Denton County is paying for the work, which comes as a new H-E-B store near the interchange gets close to opening.

The City of Denton's project page lays out the details: the roadway will be widened out to the bridge columns and restriped from two lanes to three, crash walls will be added around the columns, and a signal will be installed. The city lists that work for the third and fourth quarters of 2026, done ahead of the permanent upgrades the state plans later.

At the time the page was posted, the city said its agreement with the county for this piece was still being finalized.

Robson Ranch Road widening

The underpass project is one of several around the area. Under a separate agreement in which the county funds design and construction and the city manages the work, Robson Ranch Road is being widened from four lanes to five between Sagehawk Drive and I-35W, with new left-turn lanes and dedicated right-turn lanes at entrances on both sides.

The city issued the notice to proceed on Aug. 10, and its timeline runs into the first quarter of 2027. A new left-turn lane on Gibbs Road at Robson Ranch Road is already open, according to the project page.

Residents can sign up for construction text alerts by texting ROBSONRANCHHOA to 940-360-3362, the city says.

The bigger job

The long-term fix belongs to the Texas Department of Transportation. Its most recent list of Denton County projects in design includes rebuilding I-35W from FM 407 to just north of Robson Ranch and Crawford roads as a four-lane freeway with four- to six-lane frontage roads on both sides, at an estimated $233 million.

TxDOT lists September 2028 as the estimated date to put that contract out for bids.

The Town of Argyle has said the state plans further work at the interchange late in 2027 under that longer corridor project, the Gazette reported. In a social media post quoted by the paper, Argyle called the current work preliminary to TxDOT's larger effort to completely rebuild the interchange and thanked County Judge Andy Eads for pushing to fund it.

The county took a similar approach in April, adding turn lanes and fresh striping under I-35W at FM 407.

Sources

Cross Timbers Gazette

engage.zencity.io

TxDOT

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