TxDOT updates Denton committee on I‑35/35W merge, frontage‑road plans and funding uncertainty

John Polster, a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) representative, told the Denton City Mobility Committee on April 30 that TxDOT is continuing design and utility work on the I‑35 North corridor and related frontage‑road and interchange projects and expects some contracts to be ready to let between June 2025 and 2026.

Polster said larger projects will be broken into smaller contracts so more bidders compete. “If the projects go over a hundred and fifty million, they’re more difficult for contractors to bid and we get fewer bids, so we’re gonna break them up to get better competition,” he said. He also noted the agency recently advertised a merge project that was estimated at $440 million but ultimately bid at about $550 million and drew only two bids.

The report to the committee described active utility relocations across multiple CSJs and substantial temporary traffic work at the 35E/35W merge, including temporary ramps and frontage‑road lanes to shift traffic before building permanent structures. Polster said much of the current activity is “temporary pavement for offloading the traffic so they can build the real stuff.”

Committee members asked for more public‑facing graphics and timelines. A committee member asked staff to create an infographic or map derived from TxDOT’s narratives so residents can “understand, you know, these months, this is going on.” Committee staff and TxDOT agreed the two agencies’ public information officers will coordinate to deliver maps and videos for the public.

Funding remains uncertain for parts of the corridor. Polster told the committee the Dallas District submitted a Category 12 request for approximately $446 million to complete a northbound frontage‑road package; at the time of the briefing TxDOT had about $213 million secured. Polster said TxDOT could reassign funding from other northern corridor work if the district does not receive additional UTP (Unified Transportation Program) funding when the Texas transportation program is approved in July–August.

Polster discussed right‑of‑way and acquisition status: TxDOT reported 55 parcels already acquired for the multi‑segment corridor and said three additional parcels remain to be acquired, with acquisition activity expected to resume in September when the next right‑of‑way budget becomes available. For a separate northbound frontage/grade separation job Polster said the estimate on some portions had reached $1.2 billion in the engineering estimate, though he added the agency will know final price only after bids are received.

Polster explained the agency uses a 12‑month rolling average to build engineer estimates and that TxDOT’s construction index rose about 70% between 2022 and mid‑2024, pushing estimates higher. “By the time we get to let this project, there may be some better sanity,” he said, but cautioned that prior high‑price months affect current estimates.

Committee members also pressed staff and TxDOT on schedule and staging questions, and on whether letting multiple large packages concurrently will reduce bidder competition. Polster said letting multiple packages simultaneously is possible and often necessary to keep the corridor work moving. The committee asked staff to coordinate visuals and outreach — including working with the city’s DTV and PIO teams — to keep residents informed as work intensifies around the merge and northern projects.

The committee did not take formal action on project funding or design at the meeting; the item was a status report and discussion.