The Denton City Council deadlocked 3-3 at an Oct. 27 meeting on a proposal to endorse routes drafted by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for the Denton County Outer Loop freeway, and the proposal failed. The city transportation staff's recommendation had first been placed on the consent agenda for an Oct. 13 meeting, but it was pulled for individual discussion and postponed.
The proposed Outer Loop is a 20-mile, six-lane freeway that would connect IH-35 in Denton County to the Dallas North Tollway in Collin County. TxDOT and Denton County are leading the project jointly. According to city transportation staff, the recommendation is based on a lack of major east-west roads, projections that Denton's population and employment will double by 2050, the need to add road capacity to reduce congestion, and lower floodplain and environmental risks for Alignments B and B2.
Council Member Suzi Rumohr, who pulled the item for discussion, was the only council member who spoke, and she opposed the staff recommendation. She said she was concerned about sprawling development and that taxpayers are paying for large infrastructure needed to support growth.
TxDOT plans to formally recommend its preferred alignment by the end of 2026, announce the preferred route, issue a final Environmental Impact Statement, and officially select the route in 2027. For the council to endorse a route before then, a council member would need to request a motion for reconsideration, or staff would need to present a revised resolution.