TxDOT briefing: I‑35 North ‘merge’ and Denton-area connector projects remain multi‑year efforts as right‑of‑way, funding and utilities slow progress

TxDOT representatives and city staff told the City of Denton Mobility Committee on Oct. 22 that major highway projects in the northern Denton corridor — including the I‑35 North “merge” work, the Mayhill interchange and the 288/380 connector — are advancing through design and environmental review but will take several years to complete because of right‑of‑way (ROW) holds, utility relocations and constrained budgets.

The update was delivered by John Polster, identified in the meeting as ITS (district staff). Polster said the northernmost section of the I‑35 North work (a section he described as “gray”) was let for construction last month and that the contractor will begin mobilization and work early next year. “That big hole in the ground that you see as you come around coming north — that’s for that braided ramp,” Polster said, describing the ongoing merge construction and the new frontage‑road/bridge elements that will separate movements for I‑35 and frontage‑road traffic.

Why the state started construction in the northern (gray) section before southern sections, Polster said, stems from earlier project packaging and bidding outcomes. He said a southern segment had been bundled at one time as a single large contract “about 650,000,000” and that, after bids came in roughly $100,000,000 over estimate with only two bidders, TxDOT asked they break the work into smaller packages. Smaller…