Michael Morris, Director of Transportation at the North Central Texas Council of Governments, presented alternative alignments for the proposed regional outer loop and urged Rockwall County and its cities to use a broader set of planning tools rather than relying only on shifting the roadway alignment.

Morris told the Infrastructure Consortium on Oct. 15 that the council’s responsibility is long-range: under federal law the planning horizon extends to 2050. He said the region’s population will grow substantially — “about 8.8 million now and about 12.1 million by 2050,” he said — and that Rockwall should use all five tools — avoid, minimize, mitigate, enhance and land‑use partnerships — when evaluating outer loop options.

Why it matters: the outer loop alignment will shape where future development and traffic fall across Rockwall County and neighboring counties. Morris said some eastward alternatives would reduce traffic for Kaufman County but shift traffic and development pressure onto Rockwall, increase total program costs and deliver smaller annual benefits to local residents.

Morris showed several county options the council modeled and explained tradeoffs. For some alternatives he said estimated costs were higher while projected annual performance was lower; he cited one alignment that was about $109 million more than a middle option and another that was about $164 million more. He added that where an alternative drives few drivers onto the loop, officials will still need to build parallel local or thoroughfare projects to serve those drivers.

"You're using one tool," Morris told the group. "Try to build a house with one tool versus using all five tools to try to solve your particular problems." He urged the consortium to present any additional alignments for evaluation rather than rely only on the single strategy of moving the corridor.

County and city leaders gave mixed reactions. Brian McNeil, mayor of McClendon Chisholm, said his city adopted a 7‑0 resolution the night before to begin environmental clearance and supports the original purple alignment as the city’s preference: "As far as the City of McClendon Chisholm is concerned, we support the purple route." Mayor Tim McCallum of Rockwall said his city generally supports the designed alignment but asked how right-of-way acquisition could include utility space for city infrastructure.

Morris recommended that communities consider a "smart parkway" inside the right of way to accommodate utilities, broadband and future buried facilities so cities would not need to buy additional strips of land: "I would encourage you to have a utility vault for fiber and a whole bunch of other items integrated into the project," he said.

Residents who live near the proposed southern alignments pressed elected officials for protections. Kathy Marchetti, a High Point Lake Estates resident, said she moved to Rockwall County for its quality of life and warned against large-scale freeway construction through rural neighborhoods: "Don't put a freeway in the middle of the county," she said. Frank Merlino, chair of an outer loop residents committee, quoted data he said he had seen through the process suggesting Kaufman County could gain a larger traffic reduction than Rockwall under some options, and he pressed officials on mitigation for floodplains, noise and school and emergency-service impacts.

Several commissioners said they want the county and cities to work together at the front end of any environmental study so the planning documents can carry commitments on mitigation, access and staged construction. Commissioner John Stacy (Precinct 4) pressed for clarity about how the county will use taxpayer funds if it pays for additional environmental work: "If I am going to spend $10,000,000 of county money to determine an environmental clearance for this, I want to make sure that we have the participation necessary to use all those steps," he said.

John Polster, a county staff member, told the consortium that some near-term projects are moving forward: the FM 549 improvement project has been slotted for full funding and construction beginning February 2026; other segments of State Highway 205 and related projects are being advanced with MPO and commission support.

What’s next: Morris urged the consortium to send additional route options for technical evaluation and to use the broader toolbox — including land‑use partnerships with cities — to reduce impacts and shape development. Several local mayors and commissioners said they want the environmental phase to include requirements or options that limit frontage roads or require staged construction and right‑of‑way protection so the county controls timing of future main‑lane construction.

Public meetings, technical study results and the COG presentation will be made available to commissioners and the public; Polster said the presentation material would be posted the following day.

Ending: The Infrastructure Consortium continued discussion after the presentation and scheduled public comment and follow-up work; McClendon Chisholm’s 7‑0 resolution to begin environmental clearance was cited by multiple speakers as evidence of local support for advancing study on the purple alignment.