Eastbound or westbound, any time of day, traffic is heavy on U.S. Highway 380 through the center of Princeton. A TxDOT project widening the road from four lanes to six is not expected to be finished until 2028. Bob Wieland/The Princeton Herald

Relief for drivers on U.S. Highway 380 is moving slower than the traffic. But the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is continuing efforts to improve passage through or around Princeton.

The Collin County Commissioners Court voted Monday, May 11, to approve the sale of nearly 19 acres of land on FM 1827 just south of New Hope. The tract will become part of TxDOT’s $8 billion Highway 380/Spur 399 bypass corridor, which is not currently funded. 

“Work on detailed design, right of way acquisition and utility relocations are ongoing in portions of the corridor,” said TxDOT Public Information Officer Dianne Tordillo. “Letting [bidding] schedules have not been developed at this time.”

The bypass project would create a new controlled-access freeway alignment north of Princeton stretching from west of County Road 337 to east of County Road 458.

The new 11.7-mile freeway would include eight to 10 main lanes, continuous one-way frontage roads and shared-use paths for pedestrians and cyclists. The right-of-way width would range between 320 and 536 feet, depending on the location. 

Key elements would also include grade-separated interchanges at major cross streets, overpasses at 11 stream crossings and a reconstructed bridge over Lake Lavon.

Meanwhile, Tordillo said the widening off U.S. 380 from four lanes to six lanes between Airport Drive in McKinney and CR 458 was 25% with completion estimated for the end of 2028.

The existing U.S. 380 roadway, four, 12-foot-wide lanes, is known in Princeton as Princeton Drive. It is a principal divided arterial, running east and west through the cities of McKinney, Princeton and Farmersville and is intersected by several county roads, city streets, and driveways. 

To provide more development area close to 380, the city has proposed modifying the rules for general commercial districts, known as C-2 zoning. 

The Planning & Zoning Commission voted 6-0 at its Monday, May 4, meeting to amend the building height restrictions in C-2 districts within 1,000 feet of the highway right-of-way to a maximum of 60 feet.

The current building height allowed in C-2 is 35 feet, which would typically allow a structure of two to three stories.

The change increases the maximum height of C-2 structures near the highway to 60 feet, while maintaining the 35-foot limit in C-2 zones located elsewhere in the city. Neighborhood convenience zoning and light commercial zoning already allow 40-foot buildings, said Shai Roos, director of development services.

Roos said McKinney’s maximum height limit is 55 feet while Anna allows up to 100 feet in the 380 commercial corridor.

She said the typical height of a limited-service hotel is four stories, topping out at 60 feet, while a hospital of four to six stories would rise 60 to 90 feet.

Roos said a potential developer, who she could not name, was interested in building a higher structure along the highway.

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