DFW Projects Thread

[brownpelican]

I-35W north of Forth Worth. It will be widened from 4 to 16 lanes max (excluding frontage facilities). I don't think I've ever seen a widening as massive as this one.

Wait until they start widening I-75 in Cobb County, Ga. - up to 24 lanes.

[rte66man]

I-35W north of Forth Worth. It will be widened from 4 to 16 lanes max (excluding frontage facilities). I don't think I've ever seen a widening as massive as this one.

The closest widening I knew who came close to I-35W might be Hwy-401 at Mississauga, west of Toronto. However Hwy-401 don't have frontage/service roads. https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?action=post;quote=77161;topic=808.75;num_replies=90;sesc=9b55e95b6877590c10151b191a91474c

How soon they forget....

I-10 Katy Freeway widening from 10 lanes (including frontage roads) to 24+ lanes.

rte66man

[rantanamo]

I am curious.  I hear this 24 lane stat many times.  I've driven I-10 from downtown out to Grand Parkway many times and don't understand the number.  There are some wide portions where interchanges exist, but I've never seen a consistent 24 lanes.

[Chris]

The Katy Freeway has mainly 14 lanes, 10 general purpose and 4 managed lanes. Only some interchange approaches have more lanes, and if you include frontage roads, you apparently get 24 lanes.

Frontage roads don't count as freeway lanes in my opinion. I prefer the number of through lanes.

[blawp]

Agreed. To include frontage roads as main lanes is really silly. I might as well include Burbank and Ventura Boulevards in the lane calculations for US 101.

[J N Winkler]

I think the 24-lane claim for the Katy Freeway developed by accident, as a result of TxDOT's state highway logging system.  In general, TxDOT considers a state highway designation along a freeway to include both the freeway mainlanes (which are the only part of the facility actually having freeway characteristics) and the frontage roads.  TxDOT's logging system allows state highway lanes to be tagged separately according to whether they are mainlanes, ramps, or frontage road lanes, but TxDOT will typically cite the total lane count for the entire state highway (including frontage roads) in publicity.  The twenty-plus lane claim (I seem to remember also hearing "26 lanes" in relation to the Katy Freeway) surfaced late in the environmental process, when the schematic had been agreed but before detailed construction plans were available.  The early press reporting would have set this figure in concrete via Google, since the top hit for any search on {Katy Freeway lane count} or similar would have returned the round number and not the breakdown into ramps, frontage road lanes, etc.

I am quite sure that TxDOT never meant to inflate the claim to imply that the frontage roads had full control of access like the freeway itself, but on the other hand they would have had little incentive to prune the frontage roads out of the lane count since the Katy Freeway reconstruction program did, in fact, include comprehensive reconstruction and widening of the frontage roads.

The only exception to this general rule for logging TxDOT freeways is when the freeway and the frontage roads have separate state highway designations.  In this case the logging system will treat the freeway mainlanes as a freeway without frontage roads while the frontage roads will be treated as one or more conventional state highways.

[rantanamo]

I was going to ask the very thing you posted.  Was thinking of President George Bush Turnpike and how the frontage roads have constantly been a part of that project, and even served as the main lanes through Garland, Richardson and Plano for a while.  Would certainly in a sense make sense to add those lanes as they were a major part of the same project.  Same with Central Expressway through Dallas Proper.  The Frontage Roads even cantilever over the expressway lanes at times and even share in the aesthetic and have extensive ramps and flyovers at times.

[Brian556]

Work on the SH 114/ SH 170 interchange is coming along nicely.


Work is also underway on SH 114 between I-35W and FM 156

[rte66man]

Work on the SH 114/ SH 170 interchange is coming along nicely.

Work is also underway on SH 114 between I-35W and FM 156

Are they working on the piece between 35W and 170?  Also, are they planning on widening 114 all the way to 81 at Rhome?

rte66man

[Brian556]

No work is being done from I-35W to the Louis St overpass in Roanoke. Wise County has already finished their part. There is no work being done from FM 156 to the Denton/Wise County Line.

[Brian556]

DFW Connector (SH 114/121 at Grapevine) about 1 year ahead of schedule.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/04/27/3918863/dfw-connector-project-in-grapevine.html?video=true#storylink=cpy

[rte66man]

No work is being done from I-35W to the Louis St overpass in Roanoke. Wise County has already finished their part. There is no work being done from FM 156 to the Denton/Wise County Line.

Did the Speedway owners contribute $$$ to the widening?  HAHAHAHAHAH

rte66man

[dne]

The new Woodall Rodgers Extension is open. It doesnt go anywhere, but its nice to look at.

[Brian556]

The new Woodall Rodgers Extension is open. It doesnt go anywhere, but its nice to look at.

I don't like this sign setup. it looks like "35E" was tacked on as an afterthought, even though it's far more important than Continental Av

Secondly, I don't like the "TO 75" without the mention of the Spur 366 designation. I know the sign on I-35E say "TO I-45/US 75", and the signs on I-345/US 75 say "TO I-35E".
I don't agree with this practice, I think the SPUR designation should always be shown.

[NE2]

I think the covered left panel will be for I-35E.

[txstateends]

Actually, I've seen pictures taken around the time of the dedication weekend events a few weeks ago, the signs weren't tarped, and the left one had "Riverfront Blvd" (the former Industrial Blvd.), while the Continental sign had no I-35E shield on it at all.

[NE2]

Interesting. The original plans had that exit signed for I-35E north only: http://www.projectpegasus.org/images/2015SCH0104_1122.pdf

[UptownRoadGeek]

You can actually see where it says Riverfront under the blue.

[txstateends]

The new Woodall Rodgers Extension is open. It doesnt go anywhere, but its nice to look at.

I don't like this sign setup. it looks like "35E" was tacked on as an afterthought, even though it's far more important than Continental Av

Secondly, I don't like the "TO 75" without the mention of the Spur 366 designation. I know the sign on I-35E say "TO I-45/US 75", and the signs on I-345/US 75 say "TO I-35E".
I don't agree with this practice, I think the SPUR designation should always be shown.

One bad thing about the Continental sign including the I-35E shield (other than it being last-minute, you guessed right) is that it's slightly misleading--there's nothing beforehand telling you that this ramp actually merges with the NB offramp from I-35E to Continental, then you come to the light at Continental.  No direct access to SB or NB I-35E.  You actually have to go through the Continental light if you want to go on north to I-35E; while if you want SB access to I-35E you have to go left on Continental under I-35E's bridge, then left again to get to the SB ramp.

There have actually been 3 places where there were "Spur 366" signs in recent years:
* The (now former) EB ramp from Industrial (now Riverfront) where the Woodall Rodgers main lanes originally began.
* The WB ramp from US 75 has one on the right concrete siding.
* Under one of the downtown street underpasses (prior to the deck park construction), a 2-sided one was on a post on the middle jersey barrier.

On US 75 SB, before the Woodall Rodgers exit, all the advance BGS assemblies (this has been a couple of sign updates ago now) had

SPUR                     TO          Interstate
366                                          35E

                       Waco

                     ____  MILE

(I don't know if any of the ones on I-35E approaching Woodall Rodgers ever had Spur 366 signs on them or not.)
I tried to do a Kurumi BGS but my computer is acting up about Java.  Anyway, it may have been as little as a few weeks, or as many as a few months, but in a short length of time the BGSs were removed and replaced with the ones seen on Google Street View (http://g.co/maps/bqbt9 , http://g.co/maps/sepxr , http://g.co/maps/aag9r) --which have been much more misleading, as none of I-35E is actually routed on Woodall Rodgers.  In recent weeks, though, all 3 of those have been updated with Clearview as well as clearer info:

  TO     Interstate
               35E

         Waco
       Denton

     _____ MILE(S)

While those could be even clearer with Spur 366 signs included, at least they're better than they were.

[Chris]

The loop is ultimately planned as a 10-lane mainline facility, so I guess we'll end up with another giant stack interchange.

[Chris]

http://www.co.collin.tx.us/commissioners_court/mobility_projects/tollway_ext.jsp

Collin County needs to update its page on the Dallas North Tollway.

"An extension of the Dallas North Tollway from Legacy Drive to Gaylord Parkway is currently underway and there are future plans for extending the tollway from SH 121 to US 380 and beyond."

This "currently underway" extension to Gaylord Parkway opened to traffic 8 years ago. The "future extension to US 380" also opened 5 years ago.

[dne]

They've slightly altered the proposed alignment west of US 75, and there is a big stack at the Tollway extension - but for US 75 there isnt anything yet.

[txstateends]

Latest report on the I-635 work
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/19017524/stay-away-from-lbj-this-weekend

Meanwhile, the North Tarrant Express work has hit the halfway mark
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/video?clipId=7498200&autostart=true

[blawp]

Why was the Woodall Rodgers Extension even built?

[InterstateNG]

To annoy you, clearly.