Rockwall County Hires Firm, Schedules Town Halls for Thoroughfare Plan Update

Rockwall County has hired engineering and planning firm Freese and Nichols, Inc. to update its Thoroughfare Plan, kicking off a long-range transportation planning effort the county says is needed to keep pace with continued growth and evolving travel demands across the region.

The county announced the partnership on March 10, framing the project as a forward-looking update that will "help guide future roadway connections, preserve needed corridors, and support safe and efficient travel across the County." The update builds on two existing policy foundations: the county's Strategic Plan 2050 and the previously adopted 2019 Thoroughfare Plan, with Freese and Nichols tasked with incorporating current data, community input, and regional coordination into the revised document.

Alongside the consultant announcement, the county released two town hall flyers targeting different parts of the county, one centered on Rockwall and one on Fate, though specific dates, times, and locations for those meetings had not been published in the announcement. Residents unable to attend in person will have another option: the county said a survey will be posted to its website. "Join us at one of our upcoming Town Hall meetings in your area and share your thoughts. Your voice matters!" the county wrote in its announcement.

The push for public engagement follows a process used during development of the 2019 plan, when the county vetted its thoroughfare framework directly with every incorporated city in the county. Meetings were held with the City of Rockwall on August 22, 2017; the City of Fate on August 21, 2017; the City of Royse City and City of Rockwall both on August 22, 2017; the City of Heath and City of McClendon-Chisolm on September 20, 2017; and the City of Rowlett on both September 19, 2017 and March 8, 2018. That process covered demographic updates for travel demand modeling, thoroughfare network review, incorporation of each city's own transportation plans, and identification of issues and needs.

Each city carries its own roadway standards that the county plan must account for. Fate's thoroughfare plan, updated in 2016, includes four functional classifications with rights-of-way ranging from 70 to 120 feet and incorporates roundabout locations along with the Outer Loop alignment running along the city's eastern border. Rockwall's standards, updated in 2017, span six functional classifications with rights-of-way between 57 and 110 feet. Royse City updated its standards in 2018 to include five classifications with rights-of-way from 80 to 100 feet, while Heath's plan, last updated in 2014, covers five classifications with rights-of-way ranging from 50 to 110 feet.

The contract value and project completion timeline for the Freese and Nichols engagement were not disclosed in the county's announcement. Additional details, including the town hall schedule and the public survey, are expected to be posted to the Rockwall County website.