A minor traffic change at FM 407 and I-35W is expected to help improve traffic flow through the recently expanded intersection.
Denton County completed a restriping project Thursday that allows drivers traveling west on FM 407 from Argyle into Northlake to either continue straight or turn right from the right lane.
The change is intended to encourage more drivers to use the new lane beneath the I-35W bridge that Denton County recently completed.
After passing beneath the bridge, drivers continuing west on FM 407 will still need to merge into the left lane because the right lane becomes a right-turn-only lane into Tom Thumb.
“Thank you Judge [Andy] Eads for your continued support of the region and your partnership,” said Northlake Mayor Brian Montini in a post to social media. “This should provide some incremental relief until the 407 breakout project begins.”
According to Montini, the improvements are the first step of the larger FM 407 Breakout project, which aims to expand the roadway to six lanes from Gibbs Road in Northlake to Gateway Drive in Argyle.
The even larger FM 407 project is currently moving forward, slowly, through the Texas Department of Transportation’s construction process.
It will eventually expand FM 407 to six lanes from the west side of Justin to the east side of Argyle. TxDOT held a public hearing for the project in April after it was delayed by more than two months.
During that meeting, the Town of Argyle expressed its concerns with widening the roadway to six lanes all the way through its boundaries, and asked TxDOT to reconsider.
Argyle is also in the process of considering a halt to new developments in the area east of I-35W and FM 407.
