Fate plans Miss May Drive upgrades, new lighted intersection and path

Fate is moving ahead with a Miss May Drive overhaul that will shape how families, students and commuters reach the Worthy Fate High School area, with a new lighted intersection and pedestrian path planned along the corridor from Prince Street to FM 552. The city said residents should expect construction in fall and winter 2026, making the route a near-term change for daily traffic patterns in east Rockwall County.

The project matters most where school traffic, neighborhood access and through-traffic meet. City records show officials tied the extension to Worthy Fate High School because, without it, traffic for the campus would come from Highway 66, turning on Dismore or FM 552. That would have forced high school and middle school traffic into the same pattern. The new Miss May alignment is intended to separate those movements and give drivers a clearer route while giving pedestrians a safer way to reach the campus area.

City council approved the Miss May Drive and N. King Road project on January 5, 2026, awarding the work to DDM Construction Corporation for $7,622,428.50. Council materials described the work as the Miss May Drive extension and N. King Road improvements, and a separate resolution approved an interlocal agreement between the City of Fate and Royse City ISD for construction of Miss May Drive and King Road. The city also said the land needed for the project was obtained through a willing sale, not eminent domain.

That land acquisition included nearly 1.5 acres from the corridor and was part of a larger property arrangement at 4949 F.M. 552. A city memo said the remaining five acres were intended to be divided into five one-acre residential lots, showing how the road work is tied to both school access and future housing along the same edge of town.

A June 4 update from the city said the first phase will add the lighted intersection and pedestrian path, while a second phase is already being discussed. Phase 2 would widen and improve N. King Road and extend work to the north end of the school property to further improve mobility in the area.

Rockwall County’s April 2026 Planning Consortium report said the county took responsibility for project contracts and set a not-to-exceed amount of $8 million, underscoring the scale of the effort. With Rockwall County, Fate and Royse City ISD all involved, the Miss May corridor is becoming one of the county’s key growth and access projects, with the biggest day-to-day effect landing first on school traffic, neighborhood entry points and the FM 552 connection.