Building for a Million-Strong City
Now the nation’s 10th-largest city, Fort Worth, crossed the one-million resident threshold without tapping the brakes; it accelerated. The work ahead is in building infrastructure bold enough to keep pace with a city determined to define what comes next.
Fort Worth is experiencing one of the most dramatic growth trajectories in the country. More than 20,000 new residents arrive each year, businesses continue to expand and development is reshaping the city’s footprint at a remarkable pace. This level of momentum demands an infrastructure system that is not only functional but forward-looking. Across our Transportation and Public Works (TPW), that transformation is well underway.
The city is moving from incremental improvements to a coordinated, data-informed infrastructure strategy, one that positions Fort Worth as a national leader in mobility, performance-based planning and project delivery.
A cornerstone of Fort Worth’s delivery strategy is the Moving-a-Million Master Transportation Plan, the city’s first-ever comprehensive mobility program. The Master Transportation Plan unifies the Master Roadway and Active Transportation Plan and Micromobility Networks and Safety Action Plan into a single, actionable blueprint that guides capital investments for the next 25 years. The plan focuses on project delivery and readiness to address congestion, connectivity, goods movement and safety, ensuring future investments are targeted, coordinated and responsive to the city’s evolving needs.
This work is strengthened by deep collaboration with regional and federal partners. These partnerships accelerate major corridor improvements, align transportation and economic development strategies and unlock critical funding. The East Lancaster Corridor project exemplifies this multi-agency approach, bringing together roadway modernization, the city’s first technology-based transit and pedestrian safety improvements in one transformative project that is expected to start construction in 2027.
With more than $1.5 billion in active transportation and stormwater projects, Fort Worth is driving one of the largest municipal capital programs in Texas. But the real momentum comes from how we’re delivering these projects today.
Standardized workflows, milestone-driven reporting and tighter coordination across the city and region have reshaped the delivery model. Projects are moving with sharper predictability, clearer communication and stronger alignment. While that progress is exciting, we’re pushing forward with a mindset of constant improvement not a finish line.
This disciplined approach is fueled by historic civic investment delivered without raising the property tax rate. Voters overwhelmingly supported major bond packages, including a $511 million proposition dedicated to streets and mobility. The city is executing this unprecedented rollout with strong financial stewardship and unmistakable community backing for long-term mobility upgrades. Residents are seeing projects progress with purpose, not drift.
Fort Worth’s rapid growth has increased traffic volumes, pedestrian activity and development momentum. In response, the city is deploying a suite of high-impact safety improvements that are reshaping the street network. Upgraded signal timing, redesigned intersections, enhanced crosswalks and targeted traffic-calming strategies are being implemented where data shows the greatest need. This approach is reducing crashes, improving mobility and creating safer roadways.
Fort Worth’s pavement management program operates as a disciplined, data-informed system built on world-class asset management practices. Guided by pavement condition data and standardized scopes, TPW focuses maintenance funding on the streets where it delivers the greatest return, preserving good-condition streets and extending the life of fair-condition streets through heavy maintenance treatments. This repeatable annual delivery model maximizes taxpayer value, slows network decline and prevents millions in future reconstruction costs.
Fort Worth’s stormwater infrastructure, built decades ago, faces new challenges from heavier rainfall and expanding development. The city is addressing these realities with a forward-looking strategy focused on system performance and long-term reliability.
Channel restoration, culvert upgrades, pipe rehabilitation and targeted investments are reducing flood risk and strengthening overall drainage capacity. A continued approach toward more detailed drainage basin evaluation and asset condition assessment improves flood risk communication, informs redevelopment and maintenance needs and prioritizes work, ensuring that every project contributes to a more dependable stormwater network.
Fort Worth’s trajectory is unmistakable. The city is building a transportation and public works system that matches the needs of a rapidly rising metropolitan center. The work is complex, but the mission is clear: to deliver infrastructure that strengthens Fort Worth today and positions it for the opportunities ahead. That requires strategic patience in planning and tactical urgency in execution, a balance of long-range discipline and day-to-day decisiveness that keeps the city moving forward without losing sight of the future.
By Lauren Prieur. She is the Transportation and Public Works Director for the City of Fort Worth, Texas. She can be reached at lauren.prieur@fortworthtexas.gov.
This column is featured in our July/August issue of American Infrastructure. Read the digital print version here.
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