MCKINNEY — On a clear morning, Stephanie and Matthew Weyenberg can see rows of straight-lined suburban rooftops from their five-acre property. Those creeping subdivisions are a sign of the future.

The Weyenbergs moved here to unincorporated Collin County just outside McKinney's city limits nearly five years ago to live the country life. A gravel road leads to their red brick one-story home, and the atmosphere is quiet enough to hear chirping birds and ribbiting frogs. On the other side of their fence, neighbors have horses and chickens. Others have cows grazing in a pasture.

The couple knew the city planned to convert the two-lane county road near their home into a six-lane thoroughfare. But they never anticipated a freeway.

"It's all going to be an endless sea of rooftops, houses and concrete," Matthew Weyenberg said.

Stephanie and Matt Weyenberg pose for a portrait in the backyard of their five-acre property in unincorporated Collin County just outside the McKinney city limits. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News) (Staff Photographer)

An early city study to build a bypass north of U.S. Highway 380 could mean a high-speed road cutting through their neighborhood. The city sketch of three possible road alignments was meant to guide the Texas Department of Transportation as it works to tackle the traffic that comes with the explosive growth in Collin County.

But it also garnered public outcry.

Many angry phone calls, emails and ardent speeches later, the fate of residents' homes remains unclear as the bureaucracy works toward a solution. City leaders say whatever is done with the roadway is about a decade away, and all options — including one that would gobble up several homes — are still under consideration.

"People will be impacted one way or another. It's how do we minimize it," McKinney Mayor Brian Loughmiller said.

Despite the realization that their lives will change, for Stephanie Weyenberg, "this is just a punch in the gut."

'Focus on freeways'

Improving Highway 380 is a priority for Collin County.

Already, 2 1/2 miles of the roadway at the Frisco/Prosper border are being upgraded to a six-lane freeway with access roads. The $60 million project extends from the Collin-Denton county border to just east of Preston Road. Multi-level overpasses will eventually be built at the intersections with the Dallas North Tollway and Preston Road.

Last year, McKinney council members passed a resolution opposing conversion of busy Highway 380 within their borders into a freeway because of a lack of right of way on each side.

"Everybody in the county, everybody in the region agrees that regional mobility in Collin County is a serious issue," said Michael Quint, executive director of development services for McKinney.

"But if you don't put in a limited-access freeway somewhere, then 380 is going to be a glorified parking lot."

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Time is of the essence. That's because Collin County is expected to double in population before 2030 and surpass the populations in Dallas and Tarrant counties with a population of more than 3.5 million by 2050. McKinney's population of more than 168,000 is anticipated to increase nearly 70 percent by 2040. Congestion on the county's major roadways will only get worse.

McKinney traffic counts estimate that 50,000 people a day drove on Highway 380 in 2015, Quint said. Without a bypass, the city anticipates that traffic on the highway will double. And that's "just the tip of the iceberg," he said.

"We've helped the cities build their thoroughfares in the past, but now we have got to focus on freeways," Collin County Judge Keith Self said. "Six-lane thoroughfares won't cut it in the future."

County officials are looking at a bond election — possibly as early as November — to help fund freeways in key corridors, Highway 380 among them. Commissioners may ask voters for as much as half a billion dollars in bonds to use as local matching funds for the highway projects.

"The sooner we get agreement on alignment," Self said, "the sooner you're going to get funded."

To help address concerns about surrounding businesses, Collin County hired economist Ray Perryman to compare the economic impact of six-lane thoroughfares to that of freeways and tollways. The study focused on Highway 380 from U.S. Highway 75 west to the Denton County line. Perryman's findings will be presented at a public hearing at 6 p.m. March 13 at the county commissioners' courtroom in McKinney.

Construction had begun on expanding the lanes on Highway 380 at the intersection of Dallas North Tollway at the border of Frisco and Prosper on Aug. 11, 2016. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News) (Staff Photographer)

The Texas Department of Transportation wasn't involved in McKinney's efforts to come up with possible alignments for a Highway 380 bypass. But it recently got an earful from impassioned residents whose homes might be affected by the city's proposals, TxDOT spokeswoman Michelle Raglon said.

The state agency is gearing up to do its own feasibility study of Highway 380 that may or may not suggest a bypass option, she said.

TxDOT's study will take a more holistic approach to traffic and look at alternatives based on engineering and environmental factors as well as public involvement.

"We look at congestion and how we can make it smoother," Raglon said.

Gary Graham, CIP and traffic manager for McKinney, said the city's effort is only a recommendation to the state.

"When we go to implement this freeway, it's not going to be the city of McKinney leading this charge. It's going to be TxDOT," Graham said. "But we're not just saying, 'no, you can't do it on 380' and then putting our head in the sand. We're saying, 'don't do it on 380, and here is another option.'"

Public rage

On Tuesday, hundreds of people dressed in red packed a McKinney City Council standing-room-only meeting that overflowed into the lobby.

Their response to a bypass was a resounding "no."

Stephanie Weyenberg speaks to the McKinney City Council to oppose the proposed Highway 380 bypass alignment that would affect her five-acre property in unincorporated Collin County just outside the McKinney city limits. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) (Staff Photographer)

Most homeowners opposed to the bypass have pushed for development of an alternate route. An online petition had garnered 950 signatures against the bypass project as of Wednesday.

All three proposed routes would cut through Joan Matlock's home, where she's lived for six years in a neighborhood of mature trees near the northeast corner of North Custer Road and Highway 380.

"Our neighborhood is so different, and we chose it that way," said Matlock, one of roughly 100 people who filled out feedback cards against the bypass plan Tuesday night. "It's not fancy. There are dandelions all over my yard. I have bees. I have birds that you don't see where you live, but they come to us because it's so quiet, and there are so many trees. So I just ask you to please find another approach."

During a Monday work session, council members told city staff they did not support a bypass route on Bloomdale Road — initially the preferred route.

"That doesn't mean I'm in favor of doing nothing," Loughmiller said. "It's worth spending a little more time and maybe even a little more money to study those alignments and impacts and come up with something."

This neighborhood around Stephanie and Matt Weyenberg's home could be impacted if a Highway 380 bypass option is built. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News) (Staff Photographer)

The city is now exploring additional alignment options, but no route is off the table, McKinney planning manager Jennifer Arnold said in an email. Quint also confirmed any route is possible.

"We're essentially going back to ground zero and starting from scratch," he said.

After the May 6 election, the mayor and two long-serving council members will step down because of term limits. Quint said that turnover likely will stall movement on a bypass option until at least late July.

"They just kicked the can down the road," Matthew Weyenberg said.