TX-114 construction east of I-35W

[missxashlee]

Does anyone have any updates regarding the construction at TX 114 and I-35W? I've not been able to find current plans, the most recent renderings I've seen are from 2022. All of these show a red-light stop at I35 - curious if there are any newer plans for an overpass

[MaxConcrete]

I'm not aware of any planning in progress for improvements at I-35W and SH 114. The TxDOT 2025 10-year UTP shows nothing for the intersection. This document on the NCTCOG site shows nothing planned for the intersection.

That is surprising because when the new freeway section opens, ending just east of I-35W, the intersection will receive a very heavy volume in the westbound direction.

I'm thinking TxDOT will need to start planning soon for the SH 114 main lanes, and possibly some initial connection ramps.

I seem to recall from the schematic for the current project in construction that the SH 114 main lanes are planned to go below grade, under the frontage roads. Unfortunately I did not save a copy of the schematics so I can't confirm.

[Bobby5280]

Just more short-sighted foolishness from various planners and lawmakers. I'm guessing few, if any of those people ever visit the locale around the I-35W/TX-114 interchange. So much stuff has already been built there that a five level stack is fully justified. And more stuff continues to get built. More housing subdivisions. More giant logistics buildings. More restaurants and retailers crammed into the intersection corners. The "deciders" seem totally oblivious to that.

To me it looks like blatant ignorance they can't even extend the thru lanes of a TX-114 freeway a few blocks farther across I-35W to the existing freeway exit at Blue Mound Road. The idea such a thing isn't even in their 10 year plan is extreme idiocy. So many other big highway projects are happening elsewhere around the state. But these corridors on the North and Northwest side of Fort Worth seem to be a very low priority to TX DOT and lawmakers.

If the existing TX-114 configuration between US-287 and I-35W is left as is the road will be an hellish slog to use 10 years from now. It will be like Belt Line Road in Addison. Very very slow. Lots of traffic lights. TX-114 is already getting pretty bad as it is.

[missxashlee]

I've discovered the TxDot Project Tracker. It does show a section of road under construction to the west of 35. I am not super tech saavy so I'm unsure how to link it. Project Tracker
Maybe that's it?
Anyway, this has had my optimism up for weeks.

[Bobby5280]

The project listings on the site look pretty vague. It looks like some near term "safety improvements" will be added to TX-114 on West of the Northwest ISD school complex. For all I know that could be more traffic lights, Michigan Lefts, etc. At least there appears to be some acknowledgment they need to eventually upgrade that whole corridor into a freeway.

The only thing helping the TX-114 corridor in the vicinity of Texas Motor Speedway is the ROW is already preserved. But when they finally get around to building a directional stack interchange with I-35W & TX-114 they'll have to buy & clear properties under each flyover ramp. Based on recent patterns they may add ramps one at a time in phases. And it may end up being no more than a partial interchange.

[motorola870]

Went to Texas Motor Speedway tonight and they have opened the 114 westbound freeway from US377 to the end of the freeway just east of I35W. I had gone through there a few weeks back and it wasn't completed. Must of opened in the last couple of weeks.

[Bobby5280]

It's good to see they're finally getting close to the finish line with that new segment of the TX-114 freeway. It seems like that one segment has been under construction for 3 or 4 years. The frontage roads were built over 25 years ago.

I wonder how long it will be before TX DOT extends the TX-114 across I-35W. The existing traffic signal at I-35W is quite a bottleneck. Hopefully the next phase will not just extend the freeway across I-35, but farther over to the FM-156 exit by the Northwest ISD school complex.

[bwana39]

There should be a complete freeway all the way from SH-183 to Rhome.  Then US-287 should be freeway (or at least 4-lanes or more divided) all the way to Amarillo.

[Bobby5280]

TX DOT has been dragging its feet rather stupidly at improving the TX-114 corridor. I say "stupidly" because look at how much development has exploded around that area just in the past 10 years. Despite a looming downturn in the housing industry it doesn't look like that pace of growth is stopping. It's not just new housing subdivisions, it's new retail outlets and a lot of huge logistical center buildings.

At least they got the frontage roads built as far West as the Northwest ISD complex. But that work was done decades ago. The segment of TX-114 between FM-156 and US-287 appears to be back-sliding into becoming a crowded surface street pigged out with rows of traffic signals. There are four signaled intersections along that stretch currently. I can easily see the number of signaled intersections doubling or tripling.

Mathematically it's possible to squeeze a six lane freeway and frontage roads into that narrow ROW. But carve-outs of space would be needed to add slip ramps and overpasses in certain locations.

Regarding US-287, yeah, that's yet another corridor in the DFW region that has been neglected. I can't believe the segment of US-287 between the I-35W split and US-380 in Decatur isn't up to Interstate standards already. AADT counts justify the upgrade. Hell, the AADT levels on US-287 between Wichita Falls and Fort Worth are well above the levels on all of I-27. Even West of Wichita Falls the AADT counts on US-287 are still higher on average than those on I-27. Most people on this forum agree US-287 between Amarillo and Fort Worth should be 100% Interstate quality. State and Federal lawmakers just aren't letting such upgrades happen.

[MaxConcrete]

There should be a complete freeway all the way from SH-183 to Rhome.  Then US-287 should be freeway (or at least 4-lanes or more divided) all the way to Amarillo.

Unfortunately, plans to add freeway lanes from I-35W to FM 156 (Blue Mound Road, Northwest High School) are not imminent and there are no plans to improve the section from US 287 (at Rhome) to FM 156.

According the Mobility 2050 document (page 11), 4 freeway main lanes (2 each way) from I-35W to FM 156 are scheduled to be built by 2040. I don't see any listing for an interchange at I-35W, and there is no mention of any improvements west of FM 156.

You can look at this map and see the reason why. There's just not enough money to meet all needs. The US 380 project in Collin County will cost around $8 billion, and there are multiple multi-billion$ projects awaiting funding, including I-30 east Dallas,  I-345, I-820 northwest (including SH 199), I-20 Arlington, I-35W Denton County and many more.

SH 114 was the main casualty in the recent Mobility 2050 update. Existing plans to upgrade the freeway in Irving were removed from the new plan, including the much-needed interchange at SH 161 (Bush Turnpike).

NCTCOG is usually proactive about preserving right-of-way, but for some reason they (and also Denton County) are derelict for SH 114 between FM 156 and US 287 (at Rhome). Apparently SH 114 doesn't have any friends in high places.

[rte66man]

Apparently SH 114 doesn't have any friends in high places.

Then you end up with another US380. As with that project, they will pay through the nose in 20 years to fix 114.

[Bobby5280]

I get it that cost inflation for road construction has really spiked in recent years. However, the DFW region has been growing in a rapid, yet predictable manner for more than 30 years.

Building a new freeway (or toll road) does cost a lot of money, no matter what the inflation trend or budget situation may be at that time. But it doesn't cost anywhere near as much money to identify the future freeway/turnpike corridor and preserve the ROW. It's especially far less expensive when the ROW preservation is done well in advance when nearly all the land is open green space.

30 years ago US-380 between Denton and McKinney was almost completely rural territory, yet anyone familiar with the Metroplex knew commercial and residential development was going to cover up that corridor within the following the 20 years. TX DOT would not have needed to even divide US-380 into a four lane divided highway with a wide median to reserve the freeway corridor (although that has been the past TX DOT standard for marking future freeway corridors). All it takes is putting down a 2-lane road and cordoning off another 250'-300' of space off to the side of that new surface street.

TX-114 was the same situation in the 1990's. It used to be a 2-lane road all the way into Grapevine. I remember when the Southlake-Northlake freeway segment was built in the early 2000's. It sucks that it has taken another 20 years to fill in the freeway segment from Roanoke to I-35W. At least TX DOT had the frontage roads built for that segment 25+ years ago.

TX DOT really fumbled the ball with the TX-114 segment between FM-156 and US-287. They didn't four-lane divide the road until the 2010's and when they did so they built the segment on a ROW between 200' and 250' wide, rather than a freeway-friendly ROW of 300' wide or more. In the past 10 years that area near Texas Motor Speedway has gone from nearly complete green space to exploding with development.

I would say TX DOT dropped the ball with US-287 as well. The NW reaches of Fort Worth have exploded with development. Decatur is growing. It looks like they can at least get US-287 upgraded to Interstate quality from the I-35W split thru Rhome and up to the South edge of Decatur. But getting a new freeway thru Decatur would be rough. That's all thanks to lack of planning and lack of corridor preservation.