Doing a 360 on highway construction

[CTroyMathis]

Doing a 360 on highway construction
12/22/2002

By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News

The future of State Highway 360 is looking up. Way up, at the Interstate 30 interchange.

The Texas Department of Transportation has plans to give the sprawling highway connection a $250 million makeover. Another $150 million will transform Highway 360 between interstates 20 and 30.

When finished, a multilevel interchange rivaling the Dallas High Five in cost and size will replace existing vestiges of the old Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike. Eighty-foot-tall ramps will soar where toll booths once stood and where ground-level ramps now twist and turn. Potential paths for future passenger rail service through the interchange also will be left open.

Engineers have drawn up preliminary plans, but no date has been set for construction. Environmental reviews and land acquisition still must be completed. The earliest work could begin is 2006, and the interchange could be one of the last portions where work will start, said department spokeswoman Jodi Hodges.

The interchange, known for years as a major headache for Arlington-area commuters, handles 160,000 vehicles a day.

"We've always recognized the need for reconstruction there," Ms. Hodges said. "Other interchanges have taken on a higher priority. It's a matter of spending limited funds."

In addition to the work at I-30, crews will widen Highway 360 to four main lanes in each direction.

Plans also call for eliminating the bottleneck at Division Street, the site of last week's train derailment that shut Highway 360 for hours. Because of the railroad bridge supports, the highway does not have continuous frontage roads at Division.

Engineers have designated southern portions of Highway 360 at Division Street as the first reconstruction projects. The interchange will come later.

If the interchange is built last, it will resemble what has happened with Central Expressway in Dallas. Central was widened, but now interchange construction at LBJ Freeway is causing bottlenecks.

Transportation department officials are aware that could occur at Highway 360, too, Ms. Hodges said.

"The interchange is more expensive," she said. "But it's always an option to build it first."

The transportation department has plans for other portions of Highway 360, as well.

[gc]

Yet another mammoth highway project. This is a good idea and is something that needs to be done. That area certainly gets congested (Ranger games, Six Flags, Conventions, as well as day to day jams!).

To me, it is another positive argument for mass transit.

[bloodandpopcorn]

I think it's great that they are leaving paths for potential passenger rail there. It really shows that the entire North Texas region is not only accepting but also embracing and helping to support trains and mass transit as a whole...

The region keeps on pleasently surprising me.

[freewaytincan]

As long as the current re-development doesn't get out of hand...

I certainly like the idea. Don't you have to go more than 540 degrees to get to westbound Landry from southbound 35?

Did I ever mention that I was at the dedicating ceremony for renaming that Tom Landry? Yeah, Tony Goolsbey loves Pearce High School, espcially the band.


Oh weird. "Highway to Hell" just came on Winamp...

[crescentboi]

I am very excited about the city redesigning that interchange. I know its sad, but that interchange is part of the reason why I will not go to arlington. It should also be nice when they extend the main lanes of 360 up to 121. I'm excited to see how everything ends up.

[US75Guy]

Not that familiar with that area, but it seems like a lot of businesses crowded around there that will have to be relocated for such a big interchange.

We all know Arlington will never participate in anything as "liberal" as mass transit (too many stadiums to build), so maybe Six Flags can send a coaster through that "passenger rail" Right-of-way...

[freewaytincan]

Not that familiar with that area, but it seems like a lot of businesses crowded around there that will have to be relocated for such a big interchange.

We all know Arlington will never participate in anything as "liberal" as mass transit (too many stadiums to build), so maybe Six Flags can send a coaster through that "passenger rail" Right-of-way...

Well hey why wouldn't they support it? They seem to just love spending money left and right.

[RobertB]

Not that familiar with that area, but it seems like a lot of businesses crowded around there that will have to be relocated for such a big interchange.

We all know Arlington will never participate in anything as "liberal" as mass transit (too many stadiums to build), so maybe Six Flags can send a coaster through that "passenger rail" Right-of-way...

I'll be surprised if the passenger rail ROW survives the initial design phase as anything more than a token. If TxDOT were even halfway serious about using rail as an alternative, they'd have never even considered SH 161 -- right through the heart of Grand Prairie and never more than 3 miles from SH 360.

The original article's title is telling. "Doing a 360 on highway construction"? You do realize that, after moving through three hundred sixty degrees of arc, you are right back where you started. That's exactly what will happen here.

[saxman66]

I am very excited about the city redesigning that interchange. I know its sad, but that interchange is part of the reason why I will not go to arlington. It should also be nice when they extend the main lanes of 360 up to 121. I'm excited to see how everything ends up.
I will not drive down 360 either unless I have to. The good thing is they have already started making SH 360 a freeway between 183 and 121. I'm going to be using that part of the road next year, as I start my temporary job at AA in January. Its annoying to go 60 mph, then stop at red lights in between.

As for the interchange, I dont' like 80 foot tall concrete like many interchanges can be. The mixmaster looks like its the biggest thing in the city of Fort Worth when you look at it. If they're going to do, I'd reather them spend a little extra on making it look nice: trees, landscapes, designes and painted bridges. The new 121/183/820 interchange looks pretty decent, as it doesn't look to "big." The High Five should look pretty nice too.


Chris

[OldManRiver]

All,

This thread started 3 years ago. We still have not seen the proposed exchange even get started let alone finish. Some of the comments here are interesting, with the passage of time.

I found this thread while searching for Highway Plans for the 161 and 183 interchange.

Some one there, needs their head examined over the lack of fore thought on this design. The current system, which has four exits west bound (Esters, 161/Valley View, DFW Airport, 360) and two entrance s (161 and DFW) onto 183 needs serious revamping, as it causes major traffic jams every morning. The east bound is not much better with 3 entrances (Amon Carter frontage, DFW, 161) and 5 exits (County Line, Valley View, 161, Esters, Irving Blvd) causing huge slowdowns in the pm everyday.

All this is in less than 3 miles of highway and all major traffic contributors. It is obvious from the ongoing construction. That the plans being implemented did not have any traffic congestion data provided and the planning was done solely in the engineering ivory towers, isolated away from the day to day needs for the people, ie users/drivers.

With no provision to relieve this, but rather amplify it by adding the increased traffic from the expanding traffic load on 161. With the 360 north end construction nearing completion, and more and faster moving traffic added to the mess from this improvement 183 and 360 will only get worse.

I have not been able to find the 183/161 interchange plans online, nor have I found a place to complain or register a way to get a review of the plans with TX-DOT.

If anyone know how to or where to, I would appreciate the feedback here.

Thanks All!,

OMR

[txRNGr]

Welcome to the forum OldManRiver,
I looked through the TxDOT website and found the SH 360 Corridor Improvement Study (http://www.dot.state.tx.us/ftw/mis/sh360/project.htm) which includes alot of information on this project including a PowerPoint slideshow with renderings of the new interchange and a timeline. It appears that the study wont be done until Spring 2006 and construction could start after June 2006 once it is approved. Hope this is what you were looking for. There is contact information at the bottom of the "Project Description" page. Here it is just in case...

"If any further information about the project is desired, please contact Matthew Asaolu, P.E. at (817) 370-6852 or you may Email your comments to masaolu@mailgw.dot.state.tx.us (masaolu@mailgw.dot.state.tx.us)"

[NThomas]

yeah it's a really bad intersection so i'm glad that i wont have to make 100 loops just to go left on southbound 360 to I-30