DFW Projects Thread

[In_Correct]

Both Interstate 30 and The Unfinished Corridor are going to need additional (and wide) lanes both "Free" and Tolled. I agree with wide lanes. I do not want to drive on narrow lanes with a Motor Home.

And for the activists bickering that their "neighborhoods are divided", they are acting as if there are no grade separations, or that the roads are rail lines with no grade separations. If the Interstates were at grade rail lines, they would be dividing towns. Places such as Pauls Valley, Marietta, Valley View, Sanger, Chico, Van Horn, and Sierra Blanca have either no grade separations at all, or they are hours away from the nearest one.

[mgk920]

Both Interstate 30 and The Unfinished Corridor are going to need additional (and wide) lanes both "Free" and Tolled. I agree with wide lanes. I do not want to drive on narrow lanes with a Motor Home.

And for the activists bickering that their "neighborhoods are divided", they are acting as if there are no grade separations, or that the roads are rail lines with no grade separations. If the Interstates were at grade rail lines, they would be dividing towns. Places such as Pauls Valley, Marietta, Valley View, Sanger, Chico, Van Horn, and Sierra Blanca have either no grade separations at all, or they are hours away from the nearest one.

Just for a point of reference information for someone who is not a local to the DFW Metroplex, what is the 'Unfinished Corridor'?

Mike

[In_Correct]

Both Interstate 30 and The Unfinished Corridor are going to need additional (and wide) lanes both "Free" and Tolled. I agree with wide lanes. I do not want to drive on narrow lanes with a Motor Home.

And for the activists bickering that their "neighborhoods are divided", they are acting as if there are no grade separations, or that the roads are rail lines with no grade separations. If the Interstates were at grade rail lines, they would be dividing towns. Places such as Pauls Valley, Marietta, Valley View, Sanger, Chico, Van Horn, and Sierra Blanca have either no grade separations at all, or they are hours away from the nearest one.

Just for a point of reference information for someone who is not a local to the DFW Metroplex, what is the 'Unfinished Corridor'?

Mike

Interstate 45, Interstate 345, U.S. 75, U.S. 69 / 75, U.S. 69 would be terminus at Interstate 44 near Tulsa, and its numerous issues stalling or even preventing road upgrades.

[Plutonic Panda]

I agree with the narrower lanes. I am not advocating for that.

[sparker]

Both Interstate 30 and The Unfinished Corridor are going to need additional (and wide) lanes both "Free" and Tolled. I agree with wide lanes. I do not want to drive on narrow lanes with a Motor Home.

And for the activists bickering that their "neighborhoods are divided", they are acting as if there are no grade separations, or that the roads are rail lines with no grade separations. If the Interstates were at grade rail lines, they would be dividing towns. Places such as Pauls Valley, Marietta, Valley View, Sanger, Chico, Van Horn, and Sierra Blanca have either no grade separations at all, or they are hours away from the nearest one.

Just for a point of reference information for someone who is not a local to the DFW Metroplex, what is the 'Unfinished Corridor'?

Mike

Interstate 45, Interstate 345, U.S. 75, U.S. 69 / 75, U.S. 69 would be terminus at Interstate 44 near Tulsa, and its numerous issues stalling or even preventing road upgrades.

Just head over to Central States; at least two threads there have dealt with that corridor in quite some detail!

[mgk920]

Both Interstate 30 and The Unfinished Corridor are going to need additional (and wide) lanes both "Free" and Tolled. I agree with wide lanes. I do not want to drive on narrow lanes with a Motor Home.

And for the activists bickering that their "neighborhoods are divided", they are acting as if there are no grade separations, or that the roads are rail lines with no grade separations. If the Interstates were at grade rail lines, they would be dividing towns. Places such as Pauls Valley, Marietta, Valley View, Sanger, Chico, Van Horn, and Sierra Blanca have either no grade separations at all, or they are hours away from the nearest one.

Just for a point of reference information for someone who is not a local to the DFW Metroplex, what is the 'Unfinished Corridor'?

Mike

Interstate 45, Interstate 345, U.S. 75, U.S. 69 / 75, U.S. 69 would be terminus at Interstate 44 near Tulsa, and its numerous issues stalling or even preventing road upgrades.

Ahh, the US 69/75 corridor from Dallas to Vinita, OK.

Thanx!

Mike

[rte66man]

Both Interstate 30 and The Unfinished Corridor are going to need additional (and wide) lanes both "Free" and Tolled. I agree with wide lanes. I do not want to drive on narrow lanes with a Motor Home.

And for the activists bickering that their "neighborhoods are divided", they are acting as if there are no grade separations, or that the roads are rail lines with no grade separations. If the Interstates were at grade rail lines, they would be dividing towns. Places such as Pauls Valley, Marietta, Valley View, Sanger, Chico, Van Horn, and Sierra Blanca have either no grade separations at all, or they are hours away from the nearest one.

Just for a point of reference information for someone who is not a local to the DFW Metroplex, what is the 'Unfinished Corridor'?

Mike

Interstate 45, Interstate 345, U.S. 75, U.S. 69 / 75, U.S. 69 would be terminus at Interstate 44 near Tulsa, and its numerous issues stalling or even preventing road upgrades.

Just head over to Central States; at least two threads there have dealt with that corridor in quite some detail!

Take "quite some detail" and multiply by 1000. 

[Chris]

The main lanes of SH 199 in Tarrant County were inaugurated today: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/46-Million-Project-to-Expand-Highway-199-Complete-Part-of-Texas-Clear-Lanes-Initiative--505205281.html

This created a freeway from Lake Worth to the county line. The project can be seen on Google Maps with imagery from Nov. 26

[Bobby5280]

The new segment on TX-199 is decent progress. It's now a freeway from FM-1886 to FM-730 in Azle.

But! From FM-1886 back toward Fort Worth there are still 3 at-grade intersections along TX-199 before it crosses the Lake Worth bridge. Those need to be handled next. Then there's the matter of re-building that bridge; the current one is not up to Interstate standards at all. On the bright side there's lots of future freeway ROW already reserved. New freeway can be built down to Paul Meador Rd/NW Center Drive with no problem at all. The tough nut to crack is connecting a TX-199 freeway into I-820. I hope TX DOT can get it done though.

[Chris]

TxDOT has actually announced a public meeting for the SH 199 / I-820 interchange: https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/get-involved/about/hearings-meetings/fort-worth/021919.html

The study team is evaluating a number of alternatives:

    General purpose lanes along SH 199
    Direct connectors between SH 199 and I-820
    Reconfigured access ramps along I-820
    Improved sidewalks and bicycle/shared use lanes
    Diverging Diamond along SH 199 at I-820
    "No-Build" alternative

[Bobby5280]

It wouldn't be pretty, but there is at least a couple possibilities TxDOT could use to connect TX-199 freeway main lanes directly to I-820. Any design with direct connectors will involve building some long fly-over ramps. The big challenge is how to dodge the businesses built in the future freeway ROW between New Center Drive and Boat Club Road. Braum's, Kwik Kar Lube & Tune, O'Reilly Auto Parts and the Car Wash, Lube & Detail place next door all stand in the way of future TX-199 main lanes. That is unless fly-over bridges are spanning over parts of the properties or even over the tops of buildings. Taco Bell and Sonic are far enough out of the way that those properties could be spared.

I have mixed feelings about Diverging Diamond Interchanges. They're not good if the surface street crossing the freeway is carrying lots of stop and go traffic. A SPUI is a much better (although potentially more costly) solution.

It would suck to have one freeway stop being a freeway at a Diverging Diamond Interchange. It would really be stupid if TxDOT cleared some (or a bunch) of existing businesses to build new TX-199 freeway main lanes right up to the doorstep of I-820 only for the interchange to be a DDI.

I could see the existing cloverleaf interchange between Jacksboro Highway and I-820 being replaced by a DDI. The surface street is bracketed by signaled street intersections. Part of a new direct connect "T" freeway interchange with long ramps could be built over the top of that DDI.

[MaxConcrete]

The big challenge is how to dodge the businesses built in the future freeway ROW between New Center Drive and Boat Club Road.

For the section you mention, a preliminary design I saw some time ago showed the main lanes going across the vacant land south of all those businesses. Only a few businesses would be displaced, the Braums Ice Cream and maybe one or two others at the western end of the commercial strip.

The freeway connections were on the west side of 820 only (four connection ramps), since the 199 freeway will not extend inside Loop 820.

Of course this would place the freeway interchange south of the existing interchange at I-820. I can't remember how the schematic that I saw handled the existing interchange at 820.

[Stephane Dumas]

For the section you mention, a preliminary design I saw some time ago showed the main lanes going across the vacant land south of all those businesses. Only a few businesses would be displaced, the Braums Ice Cream and maybe one or two others at the western end of the commercial strip.

The freeway connections were on the west side of 820 only (four connection ramps), since the 820 freeway will not extend inside Loop 820.

You mean the 199 freeway?   Althought there was once plans to extend it inside I-820 who was cancelled.

[MaxConcrete]

You mean the 199 freeway?   Althought there was once plans to extend it inside I-820 who was cancelled.

You are correct. My post is fixed.

[davmillar]

I hope that this project has a positive impact on the traffic at 820 and Azle as well. Going Southbound on 820 in rush hour traffic, the backup at Azle is ridiculous and affects all three lanes. Maybe if it's largely people avoiding that stretch of 199, things will improve after the build. Moving back the ramp to the service road would be a welcome change, too, considering how many people seem to get off the highway early anyway...

[Chris]

The US 75 widening in the Melissa / Anna area is 'essentially finished'.

http://www.kten.com/story/40032517/highway-project-reaches-milestone-in-anna

[Road Hog]

The US 75 widening in the Melissa / Anna area is 'essentially finished'.

http://www.kten.com/story/40032517/highway-project-reaches-milestone-in-anna

Drove through there last week and all six lanes are open to north of Anna, but the FM 455 interchange work is lagging well behind. It's still a mess there. Soon the bottleneck will shift north as TxDOT completes the job to the Grayson County line.

[davmillar]

Drove the new stretch of SH-199 on Friday night. Not too shabby. Definitely needs to be a freeway back up to the 820 loop. Not so much the amount of traffic as much as the amount of brain cells behind the wheels. But that problem's everywhere.

Anyway... Followed it out to US 281, took that south, watched the sunset from the picnic area out there, then south to Mineral Wells and back to FW via US 180 and I-20/I-30. Was nice to beat the overcast for a bit.

[Chris]

I was looking up the traffic volume data for I-635. The 'LBJ Express' project was built to accommodate some 500,000 trips per day 'in the corridor'.

However the traffic volumes have only gone up slightly since the project was completed in 2015 and are still below pre-construction levels.



I am sceptical that these 400,000 - 500,000 vehicles per day projections will materialize. Everything is built out within a 20 - 30 mile radius, where would all this traffic come from?

[In_Correct]

Everywhere.

[austrini]

However the traffic volumes have only gone up slightly since the project was completed in 2015 and are still below pre-construction levels.

Anecdotally I take LBJ Express a couple times a month (to get to the airport) even at peak periods and there is never anyone on it. It's a good place to test out your speedometer's maximum reading.

[rte66man]

However the traffic volumes have only gone up slightly since the project was completed in 2015 and are still below pre-construction levels.

Anecdotally I take LBJ Express a couple times a month (to get to the airport) even at peak periods and there is never anyone on it. It's a good place to test out your speedometer's maximum reading.

True that. Whe I've used it, I have to drive nearly 80 to keep from getting run over.

[Stephane Dumas]

Google Streetview did some updates along I-30 between Belt Line Road and TX-161.
View from 7th Street, March 2019.  https://goo.gl/maps/FosQWyem7sdEM63NA

Earth moving on I-30 Westbound from Belt Line Rd ramp, March 2019. https://goo.gl/maps/wyJtx6RKT1utMWas7

Carrier parkway, southbound, March 2019. https://goo.gl/maps/3rdYuwgiPkzBVTWMA

[longhorn]

Does anyone know the completion date for the I-35E rebuild by the Dallas Zoo? Coming off the completed horse shoe heading south to that construction zone is a surprise.

[dfwmapper]

Late 2021.