Dallas North Tollway
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The Dallas North Tollway (DNT or simply the Tollway) is a 22-mile controlled-access toll road operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA), which runs from Interstate 35E near downtown Dallas, Texas (USA) to State Highway 121 near Frisco, Texas, whereupon it becomes a surface road ending at U.S. Highway 380.
The initial segment of the tollway ran from Interstate 35E to Interstate 635 along an old railroad corridor. The right-of-way is generally 100 feet (30 m) along this segment, one of the narrowest controlled-access roads in Texas (although the Westpark Tollway has a right of way of only 50 feet (15 m)). The segment was completed in June 1968 and toll was 50 cents. All toll plazas are equipped for electronic toll collection and main lane plazas feature TollTag express lanes.
The tollway was later extended to Briargrove Lane in 1987, to Headquarters Drive in 1994, and to State Highway 121 and Gaylord Parkway in 2004. The extension generally parallels State Highway 289 (locally known as Preston Road). Current tolls vary from $0.40 to $0.75 for a car with it being more expensive closer to downtown.
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[edit] Future improvements/extension
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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected future road. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the road's construction and/or completion approaches and more information becomes available. |
[edit] Southern section
At the tollway's southern end, near downtown, the agency will soon start rebuilding the road around the main toll plaza and adding ramps at Oak Lawn Avenue. This project will take two years. On the southern sector of the tollway, the agency plans to spend about US$43 million to add an entrance and exit at Oak Lawn and rebuild most of the tollway surface from the Interstate 35E ramps to Lemmon Avenue. The tollway authority also will completely rebuild the aging toll plaza, adding a third TollTag express lane in each direction. This work should begin in spring 2006 and will coincide with a major project by other agencies to rebuild part of Oak Lawn under the tollway. To reduce the impact on traffic, the agency plans to do much of the work at night using a movable concrete barrier and zipper machines to detour traffic around construction zones.
[edit] Northern section
The North Texas Tollway Authority started work in January 2006 at seven north Dallas locations to improve ramps and add merging lanes. The project will cost US$14 million and take 11 months. To create room for construction crews, northbound motorists have been pushed toward the concrete barriers. All the North Dallas projects should be finished before Thanksgiving 2006.
Northbound projects include adding acceleration or auxiliary lanes between Keller Springs and Trinity Mills roads and between Alpha and Spring Valley roads.
Southbound projects include adding outside lane pavement at the President George Bush Turnpike exit; between the Bush Turnpike entrance ramp and Frankford Road; between the Frankford entrance ramp and Sojourn Drive; around the Keller Springs exit at the main lane toll plaza; and between the Keller Springs toll plaza and Spring Valley.
The projects will noticeably lengthen many shorter merging lanes, including one at Trinity Mills where vehicles must merge quickly after driving around a curve.
[edit] Future extensions
Current plans are to furhter extend the Tollway north:
- Extension 3 – a 9.6 miles (15.4 km) extension from Texas State Highway 121 to U.S. Highway 380 by September 2007 (completed to Gaylord Parkway, north of this intersection portions of the frontage roads have been built) DNT Extension 3
- Extension 4 – a 13.5 miles (21.7 km) extension from US 380 to the Grayson County line (discussions underway with Collin County to build a two-lane county road to FM 428 in Celina within the Tollway corridor, corridor studies underway for the remaining part) DNT Extension 4
