My home state has had a busy year with opening new stretches of major roadway. A large section of the new tolled SH 121 freeway north of Dallas opened in August. The new 16-mile stretch from Frisco to the southwest forms a partial loop of northern Dallas. San Antonio’s newest behemoth opened in August as well, at the junction of the US 281 freeway and Interstate 410. The two busiest roadways in the city were connected in 1978 but there was no interchange there, only traffic lights and long waits for motorists. The reasoning was that the US 281 freeway had one of the most tumultuous openings for a freeway in US history, with years of delays caused by lawsuits from various parties. By the time the roadway was finished, there was no remaining money for an interchange at the interstate. The new stack is huge, and has extensive collector-distributor lanes. It is tall enough to fit all the ramps in the allotted (small) space but not tall enough to interfere with the adjacent airport. The view below is from January, 2008 – new photos from September will be up soon. Click any of the photos for larger versions.

IH 410 at US 281

In April, SH 130 opened as a tolled freeway from SH 71 east of Austin south to US 183. SH 130 is a bypass of the freakishly scary double-decker IH 35 through downtown Austin, and can shave as much as 2 hours off a trip from the north end of the city to the south end (no, seriously, two hours). SH 130 will hook up with SH 45 south of this view and will carry traffic back to IH 35. Currently, motorists trying to bypass Austin on SH 130 have to take a two-lane FM road to get back to the interstate. A small price to pay for all the time savings. SH 45 is set to open early next year, including a large stack at IH 35 south of Austin.

The view below looks at the current southern end of the toll freeway.