A major milestone has been reached on various projects along SH 121 in Collin and Denton Counties. Recently, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) granted a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) to the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) Dallas District after reevaluating the district's plan to place tolls along SH 121 from east of MacArthur Boulevard to the Dallas North Tollway (DNT).

With the FHWA's approval, the Dallas District will proceed with implementing tolls on the following projects:

• SH 121 from north of Denton Creek to east of I-35E. This more than $86 million project includes constructing a six-lane, divided structure with direct connectors.
• SH 121 from west of FM 544 (Hebron Parkway) to east of FM 2281 (Old Denton Road). The $31 million project consists of adding a six-lane, divided facility to the existing six-lane frontage road.
• SH 121 from east of FM 2281 to west of the DNT/Collin County line. Costing more than $103 million to build, this project includes constructing a six-lane, divided roadway and a frontage road with three lanes in each direction.

Projects nearing completion can expect to open some time in August 2006. The opening of the tolled projects is dependant on the production, delivery and installation of signs and toll collection equipment needing to implement the toll system.