various plans/projects for freeways in texas

[vfib]

a few idle thoughts on freeways:) ... here are the projects i am interested in:
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interest #1: Marsha Sharp/East-West Freeway
good website: http://www.dot.state.tx.us/LBB/projects/MarshaSharpFwy.htm (http://www.dot.state.tx.us/LBB/projects/MarshaSharpFwy.htm) (see the nice artist's rendering at the bottom)
my points: it's #1 b/c it's in Lubbock... and it would make the Tech campus & stadiums have more of the urban feel.

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interest #2: Interstate 69/proposed (Houston) Grand Parkway
good websites: http://texasfreeway.com/Statewide/i69/i69.shtml (http://texasfreeway.com/Statewide/i69/i69.shtml) (great maps at the very top and very bottom), http://www.grandpky.com/segments/default.asp (http://www.grandpky.com/segments/default.asp) (a nice map, but it reveals that it's obvious stage in infancy)
my points: having lived the horrible experience of trying to get through and around the Houston metro area for the last 4 yrs, the idea of this newbie Interstate and a 3rd loop would be nice. Also, Interstates are special (to me, at least), and the newest one that will happen (and is not just a theoretical) is I-69. I saw signs of "future Interstate 69" as I drove on US 59 btwn H-town and Victoria so it's not "if," but "when." This begs to question (as I am sure you were demanding to know), "What about the Grand Parkway?" Well my friend, that is what the map from the 2nd website above adds, but I am less optimistic about it since it has been an idea floating around for decades. one last note is that this highway is currently from the top of Michigan to Indianapolis. The completion of I-69 would link Canada and the industrial northeast to Mexico.

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interest #3: Dallas Trinity River Bridge/Mixmaster Bypass
websites: http://www.texasfreeway.com/Dallas/new_freeway/trinity/trinity.shtml (http://www.texasfreeway.com/Dallas/new_freeway/trinity/trinity.shtml) (the texasfreeway.com articles are old but still an overall good website... see map at bottom), http://www.trinityrivercorridor.org/html/transportation_improvements.html (http://www.trinityrivercorridor.org/html/transportation_improvements.html) (map at bottom), http://www.ntta.org/pub/pub/pub_proj_9.jsp (http://www.ntta.org/pub/pub/pub_proj_9.jsp)
my points: If I knew for sure I would be living in Dallas for more than 3 years, then this would go up on the list. Still, I live in the big D right now and the thought of a "signature bridge" is exciting and would be great for the city. The whole Trinity River project (including parks, bridges, highways) should be beneficial to the various citizens of Dallas. i don't know as much about this as everyone else does so any info would be appreciated

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interest #4:
websites: http://texasfreeway.com/Austin/newsflash/2004-04-12_raodplangraphics.html (http://texasfreeway.com/Austin/newsflash/2004-04-12_raodplangraphics.html) , http://www.sh130.com/maps/sh130-row-ult.asp (http://www.sh130.com/maps/sh130-row-ult.asp)
my points: great sign of things underway and things to come in the Austin metro area found in the links above. since my wife's family has her yearly gathering at Lake Travis (driving via Cedar Park), these tollroads will make travelling easier. too bad i do not see the extension down to Seguin on the map from the Austin-American Statesman (first "interest #4" link above).

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interest #5: The high-five (LBJ and US75)
websites: http://www.dallashighfive.org/ (http://www.dallashighfive.org/),
my points: yeah, i know you are asking "only #5?" but I guess this is an already existing interchange (more than can be said for 410 and 281 in San Antonio) so I am not as excited about it. What interests me is that it has been touted as the single largest construction contract by TxDOT, it has been ahead of schedule, and it may be done before I am done w/ residency. Right now, the area looks like a war zone or a scene from Star Wars (those things that walked around and was tripped up rodeo style? or the death star scene)


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interest #6: Port-to-Plains (corridor 38)
website: http://www.texasfreeway.com/statewide/newsflash/port_to_plains_29_june_01.shtml (http://www.texasfreeway.com/statewide/newsflash/port_to_plains_29_june_01.shtml), http://www.portstoplains.com/maps.htm (http://www.portstoplains.com/maps.htm)
my points: This would be numero uno for me, but unfortunately it will probably not become a ninterstate so that's a bummer. Still, Lubbock and Lamesa will benefit from this whenever they get the money and the go-ahead.

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anybody know some other interesting projects (that are underway or will most likely happen in the future) either in Texas, the US, or anywhere in the world? please share...

-ak

[rantanamo]

You'll find lots of freeway hate here, but I think we do all have an appreciation for the engineering tasks and improvements that can be made to those that are absolutely horrid currently.

-Signature bridges project is well underway. The first bridge(Woodall Rodgers extension) is totally funded and its model has already been shown to the public. There's a thread here somewhere discussing the design. It's now in design and engineering stages waiting for the Trinity Expressway(whatever its called) to be aligned/designed. Construction is to begin next year. The funding for the I-30 bridge is pretty much sewn up with promised fed money and donations. I believe all that's left is the design fee. The I-35 bridge is only in the baby step stages.

-The high five was pretty much like I-10/410 in San Antonio before. Horible half clover leaf thingie. Now the WestLBJ->North and South Central and East LBJ to North and South Central are complete. Lots of the unique paint job is done. I'd say its really not that much of a mess anymore. The real mess is yet to come though.

-others to not get excited about are PGBT(SH19) going through NE Garland ->Rowlett -> South Garland. PGBT from I-35 in Carrollton to SH161/I-635 in Irving(Vital DFW airport link from North Dallas). SH 161, I-35 in DeSoto/Lancaster(taking forever since its the same company building the High Five)

-others to get excited about are I-30 rebuild(a little in the future), I-30 and Woodall Rodgers possible deckings

-I'm undecided on what will be the king of Texas freeway project. That's the LBJ(I-635) rebuild. Its actually already underway in two places. In Mesquite, one overpass has been completed and work on the next stretch of freeway to the next offramp(Town East Blvd) is underway. It features extensive landscaping ala Central Expressway though its at-grade(yuck). The High Five is also considered part of this, as the true mess of the High Five will be the rebuild of the mainlaines through the interchange. The LBJ project will also include High Five like rebuilds of the I-30/I-635 and I-35/I-635 interchanges Trenching much of the freeway in an extensively landscaped setting ala Central, and Elevating it in some places in the same fashion. It will include full length frontage and Texas turnarounds. There will also be an expressway tunnel built under part of the northern portion of LBJ from the High Five to near Marsh Ln. Supposedly there will be 4 HOV/RAL lanes and 10-12 mainlanes along with 6 in the tunnel. So we are talking a ridiculous 20-22 lanes in North Dallas. All of this will cost well over a billion dollars.

-Not freeway, but the NW/SE DART lines are also u/c. This is the transportation project I look forward to much more than the years of LBJ craziness we are about to see.

[vfib]

Signature bridges project is well underway. The first bridge(Woodall Rodgers extension) is totally funded and its model has already been shown to the public. There's a thread here somewhere discussing the design. It's now in design and engineering stages waiting for the Trinity Expressway(whatever its called) to be aligned/designed. Construction is to begin next year. The funding for the I-30 bridge is pretty much sewn up with promised fed money and donations. I believe all that's left is the design fee. The I-35 bridge is only in the baby step stages.
When are these bridges scheduled to be completed?


-others to get excited about are I-30 rebuild(a little in the future), I-30 and Woodall Rodgers possible deckings.
will these be the double deckers like I-35 in Austin or I-35/I-10 in San Antonio?


It will include full length frontage and Texas turnarounds. .It is nice that Texas provides the frontage and turnaround lanes.


There will also be an expressway tunnel built under part of the northern portion of LBJ from the High Five to near Marsh Ln.
oooh, tunnel... sweet. i think those are pretty cool. i loved driving from Logan Int'l Airport through the tunnel there as well as downtown Boston (similar to through downtown Phoenix on I-10). I had heard something about a Mockingbird tunnel... dream or reality? any other tunnel projects in DFW/Texas coming up?


Supposedly there will be 4 HOV/RAL lanes and 10-12 mainlanes along with 6 in the tunnel. So we are talking a ridiculous 20-22 lanes in North Dallas. All of this will cost well over a billion dollars.
what's RAL?
now where will the 22 lanes be? (along Marsh, 75, or LBJ?)


-Not freeway, but the NW/SE DART lines are also u/c. This is the transportation project I look forward to much more than the years of LBJ craziness we are about to see.
yeah, i have always been interested in the freeways but being introduced to the rail system recently has caught my attention. i hope to be able to ride the DART to most places so that i dont have to drive in the city as much. still it is a lot of fun to drive around the state and country.

[rantanamo]

When are these bridges scheduled to be completed?

The date was never given on completion. Only that everything was in place(money and design) and awaiting the Trinity Expressway alignment.



will these be the double deckers like I-35 in Austin or I-35/I-10 in San Antonio?


Hopefully not. Austin is already talking about knocking the I-35 deck down. If you want that kind of ride in Dallas take LBJ west and take the High Five ramp. It's just as long as I-35 and is actually 3 lanes wide half the trip.


It is nice that Texas provides the frontage and turnaround lanes.

Well, there are two ways to look at them. A)They are convenient, but B)Probably encourage sprawl just as much as the freeway itself.



oooh, tunnel... sweet. i think those are pretty cool. i loved driving from Logan Int'l Airport through the tunnel there as well as downtown Boston (similar to through downtown Phoenix on I-10). I had heard something about a Mockingbird tunnel... dream or reality? any other tunnel projects in DFW/Texas coming up?

The Mockingbird tunnel was proposed a while back as a quick route between Central and Stemmons. Despite gurantees of Highland Park not hearing or feeling a peep, talk died down quickly. One thing for new Dallasites to learn about Dallas is that we may be the NIMBY capital of the world.



what's RAL?

Restricted Access. This could be HOV, toll lane, busway, heavy vehicle, etc. Probably will be an extra HOV or toll lane.


now where will the 22 lanes be? (along Marsh, 75, or LBJ?)

LBJ from the High Five to about Marsh Ln. In each direction that's 2 HOV/RAL lanes + 3 tunnell lanes + 5-6 lanes of traffic depending on how the exits are configured. Don't let the Houstonites fool you. That's not something to brag about. I bet it fills up with traffic almost immediately upon opening.



yeah, i have always been interested in the freeways but being introduced to the rail system recently has caught my attention. i hope to be able to ride the DART to most places so that i dont have to drive in the city as much. still it is a lot of fun to drive around the state and country.

I enjoy driving myself. I just hope we don't spend ourselves out of any other great projects like more rail or a much more extensive set of MATA lines.

[rjlevins]

interest #4:
websites: http://texasfreeway.com/Austin/newsflash/2004-04-12_raodplangraphics.html (http://texasfreeway.com/Austin/newsflash/2004-04-12_raodplangraphics.html) , http://www.sh130.com/maps/sh130-row-ult.asp (http://www.sh130.com/maps/sh130-row-ult.asp)
my points: great sign of things underway and things to come in the Austin metro area found in the links above. since my wife's family has her yearly gathering at Lake Travis (driving via Cedar Park), these tollroads will make travelling easier. too bad i do not see the extension down to Seguin on the map from the Austin-American Statesman (first "interest #4" link above).

-ak
I don't see how this is going to help Austin at all. That's not even where all the traffic is. I could see how they thing ppl might take it as an alternate route, but I'm not a fan of deterring people from the city. I think this will just support massive growth out there and might make resources more overused in Austin.

[vfib]

I don't see how this is going to help Austin at all. That's not even where all the traffic is. I could see how they thing ppl might take it as an alternate route, but I'm not a fan of deterring people from the city. I think this will just support massive growth out there and might make resources more overused in Austin.
I have been stuck on I-35 and US183 in Austin and it was miserable. I would hope the new tollroads would allow an alternate route for trucks and those travelling btwn San Antonio and DFW/north to bypass Austin. This would also let the people in Austin drive on their highways w/ less congestion. I agree that this deters people, but I would guess they would be avoiding the city during rush hour when the roads are too jammed anyway while they would stay on I-35 during less busy hours since it is still the most direct route thus allowing them to see Austin. I guess it will support growth further north and east but it seems better than cramming all the cars in the freeways inside the city. Everyone seems to be so against the sprawl and suburban growth, but I figure those who love living in the city can do so while those that seem to want to move their families out into the suburbs have their own reasons. I definitely want more businesses and people to come into the city and downtown, though. It is a difficult balance, but I guess it depends on what is important to each person.
-ak

[mikedsjr]

Regarding frontage roads...

Well, there are two ways to look at them. A)They are convenient, but B)Probably encourage sprawl just as much as the freeway itself.


I love I30. I30 is fast. And the reason being there are no frontage roads. There is lots of trees off that highway, so you get beautful trees to look at.

Same thing with Dallas North Tollway in Dallas. When you get up north of LBJ, its horrible because of the service roads.

I don't know if i agree that frontage roads encourage sprawl. I think what they encourage is ugliness. If you love concrete more than the natural enviroment, then you will certainly be a fan of frontage roads.

[rantanamo]

Well, without Frontage roads I get the HP, Preston Hollow look. With them I get big box retail pad sites. I make it easy to create power centers. Easy places to build neighborhoods near. Basically the sense of place is created around the freeway and the frontage it allows. Without them, the focus is on the neighborhood, and much of the time you don't know a freeway is even there until you drive or walk up on it. Not so with large frontage.

[gc]

Regarding frontage roads...



I love I30. I30 is fast. And the reason being there are no frontage roads. There is lots of trees off that highway, so you get beautful trees to look at.

Same thing with Dallas North Tollway in Dallas. When you get up north of LBJ, its horrible because of the service roads.

I don't know if i agree that frontage roads encourage sprawl. I think what they encourage is ugliness. If you love concrete more than the natural enviroment, then you will certainly be a fan of frontage roads.

Me too Mike. I30 is my favorite. No frontage roads and nice scenery. It is the perfect central connection between Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth, and ideally the best location for east/west rail, IMO.

[freewaytincan]

...and nice scenery.

Of what? The ugliest sprawl in the region?

[gc]

Of what? The ugliest sprawl in the region?

Uhhh no young buck...the ugliest sprawl in the region would be north on 75 through Plano, Richardson, Allen, McKinney, Frisco, etc, etc

[freewaytincan]

Uhhh no young buck...the ugliest sprawl in the region would be north on 75 through Plano, Richardson, Allen, McKinney, Frisco, etc, etc

You're right; it could be worse. It could be like Rockwall.

[Lakewooder]

No, it could be worse than that, even -- like Houston.

[freewaytincan]

No, it could be worse than that, even -- like Houston.

You win.

[drumguy8800]

Of what? The ugliest sprawl in the region?

Actually, I-30 in Grand Prairie (solely, not Dallas or Arlington) is the best E-W drive in the area. not even powerlines.. well lit.. new. trees.. wide, green space, no houses, not bill boards.. etc etc etc.

The ugliest sprawl in the area is the crap that lies along 408/Loop 12 and SH-183. Oh my. Including Texas Stadium. Texas Stadium is horrible. I want to go and nuke it all- all of Irving.. at least Southern Irving. I drove through it today, witnessed an accident, drove 5 miles an hour.. was disgusted by the dilapidated infrastructure.. annoyed by the rain, honked a bunch, almost fell into a pothole, was treated to all kinds of lovely funnels where probably upwards of ten lanes merged into three.. and one was closed because of aformentioned accident.. ugh. I HATE THAT PART OF TOWN. Someday, I'm going to buy it all up, and turn it into.. umm.. something. something else.

[freewaytincan]

Actually, I-30 in Grand Prairie (solely, not Dallas or Arlington) is the best E-W drive in the area. not even powerlines.. well lit.. new. trees.. wide, green space, no houses, not bill boards.. etc etc etc.

The ugliest sprawl in the area is the crap that lies along 408/Loop 12 and SH-183. Oh my. Including Texas Stadium. Texas Stadium is horrible. I want to go and nuke it all- all of Irving.. at least Southern Irving. I drove through it today, witnessed an accident, drove 5 miles an hour.. was disgusted by the dilapidated infrastructure.. annoyed by the rain, honked a bunch, almost fell into a pothole, was treated to all kinds of lovely funnels where probably upwards of ten lanes merged into three.. and one was closed because of aformentioned accident.. ugh. I HATE THAT PART OF TOWN. Someday, I'm going to buy it all up, and turn it into.. umm.. something. something else.

It rained? Forgive me; I somehow managed to sleep until 5.00 PM today.

[rantanamo]

Ugliest Sprawl has to be Rockwall County by far. I drove east on I-30 to see cousins in East Texas. The orderless sprawl reaches all the way to Royse City. When I worked in Terrell just 3 years ago, the sprawl was just beggining along the highways to Terrell and Forney. Now it is much much more disorderly and way out there. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise as its the same distance from downtown to Royse City as it is to McKinney. Difference is, there is no telecom corridor(yet) or large office park(yet) in the east. Garland and Rowlett have changed zoning along the next portion of SH 190 from Hwy 78 to I-30, particularly the 190/I-30 interchange. Should be interesting to see if Rockwall and Kaufman County become the next Collin and Denton County. I'd nominate Kaufman County as the #2 worst sprawl in the metroplex.