A dangerous road in Denton County is getting some much-needed changes.
The stretch of US Route 380 from the city of Denton to Wise County is being widened from two lanes to four.
Denton County Commissioner Andy Eads said the stretch of highway has claimed numerous lives.
"This is a very necessary project because not only is it increasing mobility, but it is increasing the life safety, because this is a very dangerous road in North Texas," he said.
Samantha Rogers died in a car crash on US 380 near Denton in 2010.
"[The widening] will prevent other mothers from having to bury their children, from having to go through the heartache that we've gone through," said her mother, Eva Czerniak.
Rogers' best friend, Delaney Mancil, was also killed in the collision.
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"She (Samantha) loved to smile, she loved to laugh, she loved practical jokes," Czerniak said.
The construction is finally under way after years of hard work and planning. The project will be completed in two separate phases, and it will take three years to widen the entire stretch of road.
"The total cost for both projects is about $65 million," Eads said. "This is funded through a variety of sources, but mainly TxDOT funding."
Czerniak said the project will bring her family a little more closure.
"I think it (a wider highway) would have left the girls more options on where to go, where on this accident, they had no other option but to end up on the side of the road," she said.
