Parents dropping kids off at Paula Walker Elementary School will share Crenshaw Road with construction crews starting Aug. 10, as Rockwall County spends $12.5 million in county and school district funds to build out a road that leads directly to the campus.
The first phase runs from State Highway 548 to the school at 1274 Crenshaw Road in Royse City. Precinct 4 Commissioner John Stacy said his goal is to have the roadway finished before the 2027-2028 school year begins in August 2027.
The contractor has 360 working days to complete the work, though weather could push that timeline, according to Rockwall County Herald-Banner reporting published Friday, July 31.
Paula Walker Elementary opened in August 2024 as Royse City ISD's seventh elementary campus, serving grades K–5. The school sits in the fast-growing Waterscape subdivision south of I-30, in an area where Royse City ISD enrollment topped 9,000 in 2023 and is projected to exceed 18,000 by 2033.
Cost nearly doubled
The project was originally budgeted at $8 million, split evenly between Rockwall County and Royse City ISD. But floodplain concerns and engineering standards forced a reroute, requiring the county to redesign the road and buy additional right-of-way from multiple property owners.
The price tag climbed to $12.5 million. The Rockwall County Commissioners Court approved an additional $4.5 million in January 2026, which allowed the county to bid and award the construction contract.
How the project got here
Stacy credited the late Commissioner David Magness, who died while in office, with originating the idea for the road.
"Without the two of them, we wouldn't even have a project to begin with," Stacy said July 31, referring to Magness and former Royse City Mayor Janet Nichol, who secured the funding mechanism that got the project moving.
Commissioner Lauren Lichty, a retired real estate attorney, helped the county complete the right-of-way land acquisitions that had stalled progress. Stacy said the land deals were at one point so complicated that officials couldn't figure out how to get the parcels sorted until Lichty joined the court.
What parents should expect
County officials divided construction into phases specifically so the segment serving Paula Walker Elementary gets built first. The county has said Crenshaw Road will be open to the public, including school buses, within a year of the contract award.
No detour plan or traffic management details for school drop-off and pick-up have been announced. Parents with students at Paula Walker Elementary should watch for updates from Royse City ISD and Rockwall County before the Aug. 10 start date.
