The AARoads Blog

One of the major changes in American roads these days are the building of toll roads or addition of toll infrastructure to pre-existing freeways. No more evident is that then in the capital city of Texas and its metropolitan area. With so few freeways serving the area, a plan was needed to deal with the growing congestion on Interstate 35, the primary freeway linking Austin with points south and north, and the arterial system due to a glutton of housing development.

Formed were the Central Texas Turnpike System and Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, two organizations in charge of planning, designing, and building toll freeways for the Austin area. Construction on the first of these toll roads began in 2005 and continue to present day. New roads and stretches of roads are opening at a rapid pace. Included are:

Texas Toll 1, an extension of the MoPac Expressway northward from central Austin

Texas Toll 45, an east-west freeway linking U.S. 183 with Texas Toll 130, serving both commuter and through traffic needs

Texas Toll 130, a long-distance eastern bypass and commuter route for Interstate 35 between Georgetown and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Further extension of this highway southward to U.S. 183 near Creedmoor is underway. Ultimately Texas Toll 130 will provide a complete alternative to Interstate 35 southward to Interstate 10 near Seguin.

Texas Toll 183A, a bypass route of U.S. 183 through the northwest suburbs of Cedar Park and Leander.

Additional routes set to begin construction or in the planning stage include:

Texas 45 Southeast, an east-west route linking Texas Toll 130 with Interstate 35 north of Creedmoor.

Texas Toll 290, a tolled freewayization of U.S. 290 east of U.S. 183 to Manor

Texas Toll 183, a tolled freewayization of U.S. 183 from U.S. 290 south to Texas Loop 111

Texas Toll 71, a tolled freewayization of the state highway between Interstate 35 and U.S. 183.

Texas Toll 45 Southwest, a four-lane freeway between Texas Loop 1 (MoPac Expressway) and Texas Farm to Market Road 1626.

We had an opportunity to check out some of the completed Austin area toll roads last month and that coverage is now available on the Texas highway guides. See the updates list for new pages on Texas Toll 1, Texas Toll 45, Texas Toll 130, and Texas Toll 183A.

You may have noticed that the AARoads home page looks different or that AARoadtrips now redirects visitors to AARoads. These are a few changes that we have had in the works for a long time now and is part of an overall reorganization that we have wanted.

AARoadtrips guides are now split between Mid-Altantic Roads @ AARoads and Midwest Roads @ AARoads. LoneStarRoads is also now again a part of Texas @ AARoads. Other websites will remain on their own for now, but some could merge back under the AARoads website directly in the future.

Additionally all Updates for the aforementioned pages and pre-existing AARoads webpages are now listed in just one place.

Under construction since February 2005, the newest segment of the ever-growing Dallas North Tollway opened to drivers on September 29, 2007. With the 9.6-mile extension, the toll road travels 32 miles between downtown Dallas and U.S. 380 at Frisco.

Traveling over the new Texas 121 freeway along the northbound lanes of the Dallas North Tollway. Texas 121 is part of a future freeway/toll road under construction to link Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport with McKinney through the northern suburbs.

Approaching the Lebanon Road off-ramp along the northbound tollway. Ramps utilize the adjacent Dallas Parkway frontage roads to make the connection with intersecting roads such as Lebanon Road. This ramp will also serve the future John Hickman Parkway.

U.S. 380 is not the ultimate end, as plans are already underway to extend the 1968-built original toll road further north into Grayson County. Frontage roads, named Dallas Parkway, are already under construction from the stub north end.

Tarps cover guide signs for the future Stonebrook Parkway off-ramp along the northbound toll road. The northbound off-ramp is slated to open on October 16; the nearby on-ramp will follow with a November 10 opening.

Departing the Dallas North Tollway along the Cotton Gin Road off-ramp. A two-lane configuration exists here, which is typical for the northernmost extension of the toll road.

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Denied before, North Carolina again sent their request to add an Interstate designation to a stretch of U.S. 264 and U.S. 117 between Wilson and Goldsboro at the recent AASHTO Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This time, the application was approved. Among the benefits of a new Interstate for Goldsboro, North Carolina, the designation allows trucks exceeding 48 feet in length to legally drive the U.S. 117 freeway between the city and U.S. 264 at Wilson. Previously, police were ticketing truckers traveling the route between U.S. 70 and Interstate 40, hampering local trucking companies and other businesses in the process. As of Monday October 8, 2007, that restriction will no longer be levied on the route.

Interstate 95 northbound at the new northern terminus of Interstate 795 south (east). A cloverleaf interchange with collector/distributor roadways joins the two freeways.

Interstate 795 signs will follow soon there after along the U.S. 264 Wilson bypass between Interstate 95 Exit 119 and the U.S. 117 freeway situated between Exits 42 and 43. A partial “Y” interchange joins the U.S. 264 east with U.S. 117 south, where Interstate 795 will turn south along the new freeway to U.S. 70 at Goldsboro. Essentially U.S. 117 is now obsolete north of the U.S. 70 Goldsboro bypass, though it remains to be seen whether or not the highway will see truncation.

Source:

“U.S. 117 gets OK to allow truck.,” Goldsboro News-Argus, October 2, 2007.