Mayhill Road Project Brings Changes for Bicycle and Pedestrian Traffic
September 8, 2024
Construction is almost complete on Mayhill Phase 2. The project built a new segment of roadway from the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Mayhill Road, north over the tracks for the DCTA A-Train, to the previously-widened portion of Mayhill Road.
Blue lines indicate the project limits of Mayhill Phase 2.
Mayhill Phase 2 features two key changes for people walking, biking or using a small mobility device, including a safer crossing and a new connection.
Safer Crossing of DCTA Rail Trail at Mayhill Road
DCTA Rail Trail crossing of what used to be Mayhill Road. Trail users no longer interact with car traffic at this crossing.
The old segment of Mayhill Road between Colorado Boulevard and Edwards Road is permanently closed. Users of the DCTA Rail Trail may now continue straight without stopping or intersecting with automobile traffic at the former Mayhill Road crossing.
Removal of conflict between trail traffic and automobile traffic makes this crossing safer, where at least one woman on a bicycle was struck by a turning driver.
The permanently closed segment of old Mayhill Road between Colorado Boulevard and Edward Road will see additional work after the Mayhill Road project is wrapped up, according to Tracy Beck, the Construction Project Manager for the Mayhill Phase 2 project. Some pavement from the permanently closed section may be removed while some may remain. “Road Closed” barricades will eventually be replaced by a curb.
New Connection between DCTA Rail Trail and Mayhill Sidepath
There are now ramps and a paved connection between the DCTA Rail Trail and the beginning of the 10-foot sidepath on the east side of Mayhill Road. However, this new connection is a narrow five-foot sidewalk rather than a 10-foot sidepath.
A new five-foot sidewalk provides a paved connection between the DCTA Rail Trail and the existing Mayhill sidepath.
City staff who planned the Mayhill Road widening project a decade or more ago did not plan enough right-of-way to include the needed 10-foot sidepath. Acquiring additional right-of-way would potentially add years to the overall project timeline and millions of dollars to the total cost due to both inflation and land acquisition costs. Current staff instead chose to construct what they could for now: a five-foot sidewalk.
Read: Denton to Install Five-Foot Sidewalk between DCTA Rail Trail and Existing Mayhill Sidepath ( Bike Denton, 03/20/2023)
Footage of new segment between the DCTA Rail Trail and Leafy Road. Video has no sound.
The five-foot segment is most likely to be expanded to the full 10-foot sidepath width when the nearby vacant property is developed.
According to Construction Project Manager, Tracy Beck, traffic lights will be replaced by stop signs at the intersection of Edwards Road and old Mayhill Road. City staff plan to assess whether to add a marked crosswalk for bicycle and pedestrian traffic crossing Edwards Road to travel between the rail trail and Mayhill sidepath.
Staff are assessing whether to add a marked crosswalk where bicycle and pedestrian traffic cross Edwards Road.
More Than a Decade in the Making
Construction for Mayhill Phase 2 began in February 2023 and is currently on schedule to be completed within the original estimated 20-month construction period.
Mayhill Phase 2 is part of a larger project to widen roughly four miles of Mayhill Road from Colorado Boulevard to US 380. The entire project cost about $77 million—about $19.3 million per mile.
Movement to widen Mayhill Road began at or before 2009 and is wrapping up construction roughly 15 years later. This timeline is typical for large widening projects, which can require years of legal activity to acquire all right-of-way needed from nearby land owners to construct the project.
Get current updates or learn more about the Mayhill Road widening project on Discuss Denton.
