Denton County Commissioners approved a professional services agreement with Halff Associates for engineering services for the Shady Shores Road project from Swisher Road to West Shady Shores Road.
The $698,330 contract will include preliminary engineering services for schematic design, environmental studies, surveying and coordination with stakeholders and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the two-mile stretch that runs north and south on the western edge of Lake Lewisville.
The road will be designed as a two-lane roadway with conceptual designs configured to raise Shady Shores Road at three low points. The road is owned in portions by three entities including Denton County, the Town of Shady Shores and the City of Lake Dallas.
Last year, Shady Shores and Lake Dallas officials agreed to cover $1.4 million of the cost for engineering the project in Denton County Precincts 1 and 3. Denton County will fund $4 million with $10 million anticipated through the North Central Texas Council of Governments to pay for approximately $14.4 million in construction costs. A kickoff meeting between the entities and the engineer will be scheduled soon.
We are excited to get this project underway,” said Precinct 3 Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell. “Shady Shores Road has been shut down several times in the last few years as heavy rains have caused flooding along portions of the road. Our goal with this project is to elevate the road so that traffic flow can continue unimpeded regardless of the season.”
Precinct One Commissioner Hugh Coleman, who has worked on a number of road projects in his precinct, contributed significantly to the Shady Shores Road project. “This project is necessary to ensure that flooding of the road does not continue each time we have heavy rains,” Commissioner Coleman said. “We believe that raising the road to a higher level will reduce the potential for flooding on that section of Shady Shores Road.”
Shady Shores Road serves as a main thoroughfare in Lake Dallas. Mayor Michael Barnhart of Lake Dallas advocated for the project that is expected to cost around $15.4 million.
“We are glad to get this project completed so that residents can depend upon the accessibility of Shady Shores Road year round, and especially for our emergency service providers,” Mayor Barnhart said. “This road is used not only by our residents but also a number of residents in neighboring towns. As we continue to see growth, this road will help the communities and residents in our region stay connected.”
Shores Mayor Cindy Aughinbaugh agreed: “This project is important to our residents, who have had to find alternative routes when Shady Shores Road was closed. We look forward to the completion of this project.”