President George Bush Turnpike
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| State Highways 161 and 190 |
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| Length: | 34[1] mi (55 km) | ||||||||||||
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| Formed: | 1977[2][3] | ||||||||||||
| CCW end: |  SH 183 in Irving |
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| Major junctions: |
 IH 635 in Irving IH 35E in Carrollton US 75 in Richardson |
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| CW end: |  SH 78 in Garland |
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The President George Bush Turnpike is a 30.5-mile (49 km)[4] toll road running east-west through the northern suburbs of Dallas, Texas, United States. At its west end near Belt Line Road in Irving, State Highway 161 (SH 161) continues southwest as a freeway to State Highway 183 near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. A further extension of SH 161 south to Interstate Highway 20 in Grand Prairie is under construction. The discontinuous free frontage roads along the Turnpike from Interstate Highway 35E in Carrollton east to its end at State Highway 78 in Garland are assigned the unsigned State Highway 190 (SH 190) designation, formerly applied to the main lanes before the project became a toll road. Similarly, the part west of IH 35E was planned as part of SH 161.
The turnpike is named for George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the United States, and is operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA). All sections are built of 12 inches of reinforced concrete atop a base of 6 to 8 inches of asphalt.[citation needed]
The turnpike passes through three Texas counties (Dallas, Collin and Denton) and six Dallas suburbs (Garland, Richardson, Plano, Carrollton, Farmers Branch and Irving).
The barrier tolled plazas of the President George Bush Turnpike have high speed express lanes allowing drivers to pay a toll with an electronic transponder called a TollTag thus earning the road the nickname "North Texas Autobahn". All toll plazas on the President George Bush Turnpike are equipped for TollTags. The toll charged at each of 5 barrier tolls is 60 cents (with a TollTag) or 75 cents (without a TollTag) for a two-axle vehicle.
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[edit] History
The corridor of SH 161 and the Turnpike was first proposed as an outer loop within Dallas County in 1957.[5] The 1964 plan was the first to designate it as a freeway,[6] and in 1969 the full loop was added to the state highway system as Loop 9. The loop would begin at Interstate Highway 20 just east of the Tarrant County line and head north (along a corridor still planned as an extension of SH 161). From State Highway 183 it would run roughly along present SH 161, turning north on Belt Line Road and east just south of the Denton County line, crossing Interstate Highway 35E near the present junction. Rather than cross into Denton and Tarrant Counties, the loop would stay in Dallas County, running roughly where Campbell Road is now. It would rejoin the present Turnpike alignment and head southeast to Interstate Highway 30 west of Lake Ray Hubbard. The south part of the loop would continue in a roughly circular route to end at the junction of Interstate Highway 20 and Spur 408, several miles east of the beginning of the loop. The short Spur 484, designated in 1970, would run from Loop 9 at Belt Line Road northeast along the present Turnpike alignment to Interstate Highway 635.[7][8][9]
Some of the opposition to the loop came from the city of Richardson, which was already divided by the Central Expressway. In conjunction with Plano, the city acquired empty right-of-way about two miles (3 km) to the north, where the Turnpike now runs, and set the centerline of the right-of-way to the border between Richardson and Plano.[5]
Loop 9 was cancelled in 1977, and the western and northern section was split between two new designations - State Highway 161 from Interstate Highway 20 to State Highway 114 (at Belt Line Road), and State Highway 190 from Interstate 35E to State Highway 78. (The piece between SH 114 and IH 35E was removed from the state highway system.) Spur 484 was absorbed into SH 161 in 1979, making its northern terminus Interstate Highway 635 (at Valley View Lane). The connection between IH 635 and IH 35E was added to SH 161 in 1988.[2][3][7][9]
Construction on service roads began in late 1988 in north Garland. In 1995 following a revision in federal laws, authorities agreed to shift to a toll financing scheme, providing an infusion of cash and accelerating construction. The SH 190 designation was removed from the main lanes in 1996,[3], and in 1998 SH 161 was removed from the piece between Belt Line Road and IH 635 (Segment V).[2]
- Segment I (North Dallas). Extends from Campbell Road to Midway Road, and includes the Dallas North Tollway and U.S. Highway 75 (Central Expressway) interchanges. Opened in December 1998.
- Segment II (Garland/Richardson). Extends from Campbell Road to State Highway 78. It was opened in 2000.
- Segment III (Carrollton). Extends from Midway Road in north Dallas to Interstate Highway 35E. It was opened July 2001.
- Segment IV ("GBT Superconnector"). Connects IH 35E to Interstate Highway 635. Covering 5.2 miles and built at the cost of $339 million, construction began in January 2003 and was completed in October 2005.
- Segment V (Irving). A 3.9-mile segment connecting IH 635 to the SH 161 freeway near Belt Line Road. It opened in December 2001. Unstable clay soil was a significant problem in this segment, requiring contractors to use concentrated liquid stabilizers and geosynthetic reinforcement.
The total project cost is estimated at $900 million.
[edit] Expansion
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This article 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. |
The eastern expansion phase of the President George Bush Turnpike will extend the road 9.9 miles southeast to Interstate Highway 30 through the cities of Sachse and Rowlett, meeting IH 30 in extreme southeast Garland.[10] (This was added to the definition of SH 190 in 2006.[3]) The NTTA received environmental clearance in 2005 and is estimating construction to begin in 2007, with completion in 2010. The project will include a 1-mile (1.5 km) bridge spanning Lake Ray Hubbard. Costs estimates of this segment have ranged between $398 to $442 million.
The NTTA is also planning to extend the western terminus south to Interstate Highway 20 through the city of Grand Prairie, forming a half loop around the city of Dallas. This phase is still in the early stages and the NTTA has not released a completion date; however, construction on PGBT south of State Highway 183 is in progress.
Long term plans are for the turnpike to form a full outer loop around Dallas, dubbed Loop 9 (despite the cancellation of that number by TxDOT in 1977).
[edit] Exit list
| Destinations | Tolls | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| State Highway 183 - Fort Worth; Dallas |
westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| Rochelle Road | westbound exit only | |
| Northgate Drive | ||
| Walnut Hill Lane | ||
| Belt Line Road | ||
| barrier toll 10 | $0.75 | separate ramp plazas for Belt Line Road traffic (same toll) |
 State Highway 114 - Royal Lane |
$0.40 westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| MacArthur Boulevard | eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| Interstate Highway 635 west - Las Colinas Boulevard; O'Connor Boulevard |
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| Interstate Highway 635 east |
eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| Valley View Lane | ||
| Luna Road; Beltline Road | ? eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| barrier toll | ? | |
| Sandy Lake Road | ||
 Interstate Highway 35E - Dallas; Denton (U.S. Highway 77) |
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| Old Denton Road; McCoy Road; Dickerson Parkway | ||
| Josey Lane; Scott Mill Road; McCoy Road | $0.40 eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| Trinity Mills Road; Kelly Boulevard | $0.40 eastbound exit and westbound entrance | eastbound exit and westbound entrance |
| barrier toll 8 | $0.75 | |
| Frankford Road; Marsh Lane | $0.40 westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| Rosemeade Parkway; Midway Road | $0.40 westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| Dallas North Tollway | ||
 State Highway 289 - Preston Road |
$0.40 eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| barrier toll 7 | $0.75 | |
| Coit Road | $0.40 westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| UT Dallas; Independence Parkway; Waterview Parkway | $0.40 westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| Custer Parkway | ||
| Alma Road | eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| U.S. Highway 75 |
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| Avenue K; Plano Road (former State Highway 5) | westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| Jupiter Road | ||
| Renner Road | $0.40 eastbound exit and westbound entrance | eastbound exit and westbound entrance |
| Shiloh Road; Lookout Drive | $0.40 eastbound exit and westbound entrance | eastbound exit and westbound entrance |
| barrier toll 6 | $0.75 | |
| Renner Road | $0.40 westbound exit and eastbound entrance | westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| Campbell Road; Holford Road; Shiloh Road; Telecom Parkway | $0.40 westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| North Garland Avenue; Brand Road; Holford Road | $0.40 westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| Brand Road | westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| State Highway 78 - Garland; Sachse; Wylie |
[edit] References
- ^ Mapquest Driving Directions: part 1 and part 2
- ^ a b c Texas Department of Transportation, Highway Designation File - State Highway No. 161
- ^ a b c d Texas Department of Transportation, Highway Designation File - State Highway No. 190
- ^ North Texas Tollway Authority - About Our Roadways
- ^ a b Chris Kelley, Construction set to start on long-planned tollway, Dallas Morning News, April 28, 1996
- ^ TexasFreeway - Historic Dallas / Fort Worth Freeway Planning Maps
- ^ a b Texas Department of Transportation, Highway Designation File - State Highway Loop No. 9
- ^ TexasFreeway - Dallas/Fort Worth Freeway Planning Map, 1971
- ^ a b Texas Department of Transportation, Highway Designation File - State Highway Spur No. 484
- ^ The President George Bush Turnpike: Eastern Extension
