New Fairview Parkway Nearly Empty as Officials Say Most Residents Unaware

Mayor John Hubbard said “It’s the road nobody knows about” after Fairview Parkway opened as a brand-new stretch of roadway through the Town of Fairview that town officials say is only a week old and currently nearly empty, even though local leaders tout nearly $11 million in leveraged investment from Collin County and the Billingsley Company. The town statement credits Collin County with “nearly $8 million” and Billingsley with “almost $2.75 million” in contributions toward the project.

The parkway runs east–west through northern Collin County, connecting Medical Center Drive at the McKinney border to Greenville Drive, which becomes Highway 5, and town engineers say it is designed to handle up to 30,000 vehicles per day at full build-out. Town engineer James Chancellor said, “This road serves both cut-through traffic and local demand, future demand,” framing the corridor as both a local connector and a regional relief valve for Highway 5 congestion.

Town leaders say the idea for the corridor has been discussed for almost three decades and framed the new pavement as a proactive move to shape growth. Mayor Hubbard said, “Usually, cities are reactive; we wanted to be proactive,” and added that “Nothing that is here happened by chance” while arguing the project aligns with a strategy to “keep it country” through “smart or strategic growth.”

Council records show the project moved through public procurement and contract approvals in recent meetings. A council transcript records a base bid figure of $9,957,427.38 and later references an amount “around $10,384,000.” The council moved to award the construction contract to Indus Road & Bridge, which submitted the low bid, and approved a lump-sum agreement with Kimley‑Horn for additional engineering services to design alternates and future four‑lane sections. The council approved those items on a voice vote and locked in a facilities agreement with Billingsley to use county funds and remaining town ARPA dollars to cover the local share.

Funding language in the council transcript describes Collin County as covering “70% of the base bid,” while town communications and the Fairview Economic Development Corporation frame county and developer contributions as the nearly $11 million leveraged investment. The differing phrasing, percentage of base bid versus dollar figures, is recorded in meeting materials but not reconciled in the documents provided at the meeting.

Council documents also list immediate next steps: finalize and execute contracts, contractor mobilization, and obtain required permits before moving fully into construction. The transcript notes that “leftover county money could be used to extend four lanes farther south on the corridor,” but the extension and any timeline for widening remain contingent on future approvals and design work.

Fairview EDC describes the project under the banner “A Road Built for Opportunity,” saying in promotional language that “Fairview Parkway will deliver tremendous economic potential to the Town of Fairview” and that the corridor “sets the stage for Sloan Corners, strengthens our commercial district, and positions Fairview for long-term prosperity.” Town minutes show officials are now balancing immediate construction tasks with unresolved contract reconciliations and design decisions about phasing two‑lane versus four‑lane sections.