The first phase of the FM 1385 road project was approved for more than $38.2 million in state funding.
The money will fund Phase 1 of three to widen FM 1385 from two lanes to six and ease heavy traffic congestion from U.S. 380 to Union Park Boulevard.
“Denton County cannot continue to grow at this pace without the necessary infrastructure investments,' State Rep. Jared Patterson stated in a press release on Aug. 26. 'Today's announcement is an important step, but it is not the finish line. I look forward to continuing to work with TxDOT, Denton County, local officials and our community to make sure FM 1385 moves forward and we continue addressing transportation needs across the district.”
Residents in the area have voiced their frustrations with the 1385 for several years.
Those frustrations flared up online in light of the multi-vehicle car crash on Aug. 19 on FM 1385, south of FM 428.
Several agencies from surrounding cities were on the scene to assist, including Aubrey, Pilot Point, Denton and Celina.
“Preliminary investigation determined a vehicle traveling northbound on FM1385 failed to maintain a single lane, crossed over into southbound traffic and crashed into a southbound vehicle,” a media release by the Aubrey Po- lice Department read. “After crashing into the southbound vehicle, the northbound vehicle struck the guardrail and then crashed head-on into another southbound vehicle. The second southbound vehicle went over the guardrail and became submerged in water.”
On Aug. 24, Assistant Chief Jeremy Johnson further described the accident.
“The driver of the car that was upside down in the creek was resuscitated, and he was flown from [Methodist] Celina to Methodist Dallas, where he's currently on life support,” Assistant Chief Jeremy Johnson said.
A week later, the man was still on life support.
“Police, fire, and EMS did an amazing job by immediately jumping into the water despite the risk of the unknown and doing everything they could to get him out and ultimately recovering him,” Johnson said.
He added that they did not draw direct causation between the accident and the lack of striping on the road at the time of the crash but noted that the road condition in that area is problematic.
As it stands, the Aubrey PD does not anticipate the driver receiving any criminal-level charges.
In the Denton County Precinct 1 July 2026 Transportation Update report, it stated, “A temporary fix by Tx-DOT on FM 1385 at the two bridges between FM 428 is complete but needs pavement markings, which are anticipated to occur in September. TxDOT plans to let for the permanent bridge contract in October with construction possibly to start by the end of 2026 or early 2027.”
Foam would be injected under the bridge approaches, “to try to stabilize the pavement in front of the bridges,” the report said, adding that it could take between 1-2 months to complete the project.
To stay up to date with transportation updates through newsletters, contact Capricia.Willis@dentoncounty. gov or Ryan. Williams@dentoncounty. gov.
