DART News

Dallas thoroughfare closed by DART Silver Line to reopen after a year

More progress on the ongoing DART Silver Line.

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A major thoroughfare in North Dallas will reopen after a year-long closure. According to a release, a portion of Hillcrest Road that was closed for continued construction of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Silver Line Regional Rail project will re-open Thursday, January 23, 2025, to commuters traveling through North Dallas.

The road was closed for 52 weeks. Let the traffic return!

UPDATE 1/23/2025: The opening has been delayed. According to a statement, the City of Dallas and DART are delaying the partial reopening of Hillcrest Road between McCallum and Wester Way for two weeks. The delay of delivery of equipment for the new Hillcrest stormwater pump station has resulted in the station not being fully operational. And with the forecast rain over the next 10 days, the City and DART, in abundance of caution, decided to delay the partial reopening of Hillcrest.
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DART and the City of Dallas agreed to close this 1/5-mile stretch of Hillcrest Road on January 25, 2024, as crews built a new section of roadway underneath a raised rail guideway for the Silver Line.

Hillcrest RoadThe closure was near the city of Richardson border and within Plano Independent School District attendance zonesDART

The closure was located near the city of Richardson border and within Plano Independent School District attendance zone, and included no access to Hillcrest Road between McCallum Boulevard and Wester Way.

Hillcrest Road will open with one lane of traffic in each direction in the inside lanes before resuming to multiple lanes at McCallum to the north and Wester Way to the south. Medians will separate the open lanes with a strict 25-mph speed limit enforced.

When they made the closure a year ago, they predicted the reopening would take place on January 24, so they beat their target by a day. Huzzah.

With major construction primarily complete, DART will post digital road signs alerting drivers of any upcoming changes and will continue providing updates to nearby cities who may have commuters that frequent the area.

Pedestrians will have access to a designated temporary walkway on the eastside of the roadway barrier wall. The fully constructed sidewalk is expected to open in February.

The DART Silver Line is a 26-mile commuter rail that will cross seven North Texas cities (Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson, Plano) between DFW Airport and Shiloh Road in Plano, as wel as three counties (Collin, Dallas, Tarrant), with a goal of providing service across the northern portion of DART's service area, as well as access to DFW Airport. DART Silver Line revenue service is scheduled to begin in late 2025 to mid-2026.

traffic transportation

Hotel News

City of McKinney approves funding for new Marriott luxury hotel

City of McKinney

Rendering of JW Marriott in McKinney

The McKinney City Council has approved incentives for the development of a JW Marriott resort hotel at Craig Ranch, a master-planned community, where it’s slated to go up at the northeast corner of Collin McKinney Parkway and Van Tuyl Parkway.

Construction on the eight-acre project is set to begin December 2026.

The city of McKinney is giving an economic development grant to Craig Ranch Luxury Hotel SPE Owner LP for the project. Under the agreement, the developer will construct and operate a luxury JW Marriott resort hotel featuring 290 guest rooms, more than 51,000 square feet of high-end hotel conference space, and resort-style amenities.

These amenities include a pool with a lazy river, a full-service fitness center, a three-meal restaurant and specialty restaurant, a lounge with a terrace and poolside service, pickleball courts, structured and valet parking, and other conveniences such as a business center and a retail gift shop.

Visitors to the hotel will also have access to the TPC Craig Ranch golf course and Life Time Fitness and Spa.

The project will also include at least 45 for-sale condos, served by a dedicated amenity deck. Funding for the hotel and condos will come from grants and a loan including a $25 million grant and $10.25 million loan from the City of McKinney and a $2 million grant from the McKinney Economic Development Corporation, according to city council documents.

According to the Mayor of McKinney, the project reflects the city’s commitment to planned growth and economic development.

"With the airport's upcoming expansion into commercial service, our extended partnership with The CJ CUP Byron Nelson tournament, and major entertainment attractions like the VENU Sunset Amphitheater and Cannon Beach: Surf and Adventure Park, McKinney is quickly becoming a regional and national destination,” says McKinney Mayor George Fuller in a statement. “A luxury resort like JW Marriott is not just welcome, it's needed."

This development supports the city's continued efforts to promote tourism and attract premier hospitality experiences, and this upcoming $1.3 billion mixed use development is yet another example of how serious the city is about drawing in a new crowd.

The hotel is expected to be completed by April 2029.

hotels