Farmers Branch staff outline timeline for Denton Drive and Valley View projects; council seeks TxDOT parking enforcement on 635 service road

Farmers Branch public‑works staff briefed council on the timing and impacts of several roadway projects and on a separate parking enforcement issue on the 635 service road during the Feb. 18 study session.

Public‑works director said two projects funded through a DART interlocal agreement (ILA) will proceed in phases. The work includes additional phases on Denton Drive and a Valley View corridor project with storm‑sewer improvements that will direct runoff toward Rawhide Creek. Staff said most heavy utility relocation for Denton Drive was completed in an earlier phase and that crews expect to begin mobilization by late March or early April, with substantial construction activity by mid‑April.

Council members repeatedly pressed staff about construction staging and weekend event impacts, citing nearby sports and recreation facilities that rely on overflow parking. Public Works said the design includes additional on‑street parking and that existing overflow lots will retain driveway access; staff committed to earlier resident notifications when utility outages or service interruptions are necessary.

On utilities, staff said most water, sanitary‑sewer and storm work for Denton Drive has been addressed in the first phase and that further utility interruptions should be minimal. Valley View’s six‑lane corridor, however, still contains sanitary and storm work; burying the city’s water lines would require closing a separate side of the road and was not included in the current scope. Staff said burying long stretches of third‑party power lines is feasible but costly and requires coordination with Encore, the electric utility; a single intersection burial in past projects approached roughly $200,000, so trenching a longer corridor would be substantially more expensive.

Budget and change orders: Council discussed a contract change order tied to another project (J5). Staff said the underlying project had an original allocation of $4,025,000 and that the pending change order — described in the meeting as roughly $423,000 — would keep the project under that allocation if approved. Staff said the change order was intended to use previously available funds for work that was not in the initial contract.

635 Service Road parking enforcement: Council asked how the city can address large commercial vehicles blocking sight lines and parking along the 635 service road. Staff said the service road is Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) right‑of‑way, so the city’s ordinances do not automatically apply. Staff advised that the city must pass a local ordinance authorizing no‑parking in the area and present that ordinance to TxDOT; TxDOT can then add compatible restrictions to its code so that police can issue citations. "We first have to put it in our local warrant assistance, and then from there, we can take it to TxDOT, and they can add it to theirs, and then we can legally enforce it," staff said.

Discussion vs. action: This was a staff briefing and Q&A. No formal votes were taken during the study session. Council requested that staff coordinate with contractors to avoid weekend impacts, improve resident notices for service interruptions, and explore whether future projects can coordinate burying utilities with planned roadway work.

Next steps: Staff will schedule pre‑construction meetings with contractors, pursue the ordinance language needed for TxDOT coordination on parking restrictions, and provide additional cost comparisons requested by council (including water‑main replacement versus burying power lines) in future briefings.