diff --git a/pkg/sql/backfill.go b/pkg/sql/backfill.go
index e063fa9d2676..501935e287c2 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/backfill.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/backfill.go
@@ -935,14 +935,15 @@ func getJobIDForMutationWithDescriptor(
 		"job not found for table id %d, mutation %d", tableDesc.GetID(), mutationID)
 }
 
-// nRanges returns the number of ranges that cover a set of spans.
+// numRangesInSpans returns the number of ranges that cover a set of spans.
 //
 // It operates entirely on the current goroutine and is thus able to
 // reuse an existing kv.Txn safely.
-func (sc *SchemaChanger) nRanges(
-	ctx context.Context, txn *kv.Txn, spans []roachpb.Span,
+func numRangesInSpans(
+	ctx context.Context, db *kv.DB, distSQLPlanner *DistSQLPlanner, spans []roachpb.Span,
 ) (int, error) {
-	spanResolver := sc.distSQLPlanner.spanResolver.NewSpanResolverIterator(txn)
+	txn := db.NewTxn(ctx, "num-ranges-in-spans")
+	spanResolver := distSQLPlanner.spanResolver.NewSpanResolverIterator(txn)
 	rangeIds := make(map[int64]struct{})
 	for _, span := range spans {
 		// For each span, iterate the spanResolver until it's exhausted, storing
@@ -1135,6 +1136,17 @@ func (sc *SchemaChanger) distIndexBackfill(
 	)
 	defer recv.Release()
 
+	getTodoSpansForUpdate := func() []roachpb.Span {
+		mu.Lock()
+		defer mu.Unlock()
+		if mu.updatedTodoSpans == nil {
+			return nil
+		}
+		return append(
+			make([]roachpb.Span, 0, len(mu.updatedTodoSpans)),
+			mu.updatedTodoSpans...,
+		)
+	}
 	updateJobProgress = func() error {
 		// Report schema change progress. We define progress at this point as the
 		// the fraction of fully-backfilled ranges of the primary index of the
@@ -1143,22 +1155,19 @@ func (sc *SchemaChanger) distIndexBackfill(
 		// change state machine or from a previous backfill attempt, we scale that
 		// fraction of ranges completed by the remaining fraction of the job's
 		// progress bar.
-		err := sc.db.Txn(ctx, func(ctx context.Context, txn *kv.Txn) error {
-			mu.Lock()
+		updatedTodoSpans := getTodoSpansForUpdate()
+		if updatedTodoSpans == nil {
+			return nil
+		}
+		nRanges, err := numRangesInSpans(ctx, sc.db, sc.distSQLPlanner, mu.updatedTodoSpans)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		if origNRanges == -1 {
+			origNRanges = nRanges
+		}
+		return sc.db.Txn(ctx, func(ctx context.Context, txn *kv.Txn) error {
 			// No processor has returned completed spans yet.
-			if mu.updatedTodoSpans == nil {
-				mu.Unlock()
-				return nil
-			}
-			nRanges, err := sc.nRanges(ctx, txn, mu.updatedTodoSpans)
-			mu.Unlock()
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-			if origNRanges == -1 {
-				origNRanges = nRanges
-			}
-
 			if nRanges < origNRanges {
 				fractionRangesFinished := float32(origNRanges-nRanges) / float32(origNRanges)
 				fractionCompleted := origFractionCompleted + fractionLeft*fractionRangesFinished
@@ -1169,21 +1178,18 @@ func (sc *SchemaChanger) distIndexBackfill(
 			}
 			return nil
 		})
-		return err
 	}
 
 	updateJobDetails = func() error {
-		err := sc.db.Txn(ctx, func(ctx context.Context, txn *kv.Txn) error {
-			mu.Lock()
-			defer mu.Unlock()
+		updatedTodoSpans := getTodoSpansForUpdate()
+		return sc.db.Txn(ctx, func(ctx context.Context, txn *kv.Txn) error {
 			// No processor has returned completed spans yet.
-			if mu.updatedTodoSpans == nil {
+			if updatedTodoSpans == nil {
 				return nil
 			}
-			log.VEventf(ctx, 2, "writing todo spans to job details: %+v", mu.updatedTodoSpans)
-			return rowexec.SetResumeSpansInJob(ctx, mu.updatedTodoSpans, mutationIdx, txn, sc.job)
+			log.VEventf(ctx, 2, "writing todo spans to job details: %+v", updatedTodoSpans)
+			return rowexec.SetResumeSpansInJob(ctx, updatedTodoSpans, mutationIdx, txn, sc.job)
 		})
-		return err
 	}
 
 	// Setup periodic progress update.
@@ -1310,7 +1316,7 @@ func (sc *SchemaChanger) distColumnBackfill(
 			// schema change state machine or from a previous backfill attempt,
 			// we scale that fraction of ranges completed by the remaining fraction
 			// of the job's progress bar.
-			nRanges, err := sc.nRanges(ctx, txn, todoSpans)
+			nRanges, err := numRangesInSpans(ctx, sc.db, sc.distSQLPlanner, todoSpans)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}