Council backs Blackjack Road route for Denton County Outer Loop; police to add armored rescue vehicle

Aubrey has formally told Denton County and TxDOT which path it wants the proposed Outer Loop freeway to take through town.

At its Sept. 24 meeting, the City Council approved a resolution backing the Outer Loop project and stating a preference for the Blue Alternative, also called Alternative 2, The Post-Signal reported Oct. 1. The Outer Loop would be a six-lane freeway, largely on new alignment, running from I-35 in Denton County east to the Dallas North Tollway. It is still in environmental review.

According to the city staff report, two main routes are proposed through Aubrey, both crossing U.S. 377, the road Assistant City Manager Leanne Wilson described to the council as soon to be Ray Roberts Parkway. The Blue Alternative runs generally near Blackjack Road and matches Aubrey's Master Thoroughfare Plan. The other, called the gold alignment, crosses farther north.

The resolution also urges the county, TxDOT and their partners to keep moving the review, design and funding process along "in a timely and transparent manner."

Not everyone in the room agreed. Resident William Cherry urged the council not to pass the resolution, or at least to amend it to acknowledge that community support for the Outer Loop "is at least mixed," according to The Post-Signal. Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Perry replied that he did not think "no is going to be an option."

Council members described the resolution as Aubrey's way of having a say in where the final alignment lands.

Armored rescue vehicle

At the same meeting, Police Chief Richard Brooks laid out his request for a Terradyne Gurkha MPV set up for armored rescue work. The staff report put the total at $353,985.28, paid from 2025 certificates of obligation that set aside as much as $500,000 for it.

The vehicle itself costs $332,046, with the rest covering a radio, two ballistic shields, rescue bars, window rakes and a ladder.

Brooks pointed to a hostage situation in Providence Village, where his department's response team arrived within 20 minutes but worked without armor until another agency's vehicle got there hours later. "If you need this piece of equipment, you need it now, not in two hours," he told the council, according to The Post-Signal.

The department covers Aubrey, Providence Village and nearby areas, roughly 42 square miles and 43,000 people, using 37 sworn officers, the staff report said.

Planned uses include officer and civilian rescue, active-threat and barricade calls, help for neighboring agencies and high-water rescue. Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Fikes noted that Denton County's SWAT team operates the same model.

Sources

postsignal.com

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