13 replies to this topic

[BlueMound]

Still in the early stages, though

Officials planning new I-30, 360 Interchange

http://fwbusinesspre...nterchange.aspx

[JBB]

I remember when they said this would happen before or shortly after Cowboys Stadium opening. This is a project that makes a lot of sense. That interchange was probably outdated when the toll road was converted nearly 40 years ago. What remnants of the old toll plazas will be left after this is done? The Collins interchange was reworked a few years ago and I've always heard that the wider than normal roadway and the odd exits near Oakland and Brentwood Stair were remnants of the toll road.

[John T Roberts]

I was around when I-30 was a toll road, and I was driving by the time the tolls were lifted.  Actually, I was commuting to UTA when that happened.  From what I could remember, the traffic did not increase too dramatically after the tolls were lifted.  That interchange became outdated when more people used the road and the Arlington entertainment district expanded in the 1980's.  The areas of the wider road and the odd exits at Oakland and Brentwood Stair are indeed, the remnants of the toll road. 

[RD Milhollin]

It will be interesting to see if the design for the new intersection incorporates right of way for a rail line running along I-30. Looking to the future, all of the current major highway reconstruction projects (I-820/SH183, I-35W, I-35E, I-635) should have dedicated rail ROW but none of them do.

[RD Milhollin]

It looks like the Transpo-Powers are still talking about an actual freeway intersection joining I-30 and SH-360 in Arlington. It sounds like a good idea, but it is going to cost money, money that is currently not budgeted. 

 

http://www.star-tele...-arlington.html

 

The article has a little historical perspective on the current interchange, the need for additional land to make this work, and the funding problems. Planning should be done in 2015 so that construction could begin as soon as someone agrees to pay for it (shovel-ready). Also in the mix are plans to turn the center express lanes into a reversible one-way/two-lane tollway to connect Arlington to Dallas, useful for large sporting events in Arlington but probably supplanting any easy plans for rail lines to be imbedded in the future I-30 plans. A meeting in Arlington next Tuesday evening 6-8 PM at the Arlington Hilton will reveal more details of the plan to the public. TxDOT.gov should have more details as well.

[JBB]

I thought the center express lane conversion was already ongoing. Haven't they been closed for the last year? I know the one through Grand Prairie is currently under construction.

[David Love]

I avoid that area like the plague, if eminent domain ever had any reason for being, it would be to fix messed up infrastructure like this blight on common sense.

[RD Milhollin]

The Texas Transportation Commission has budgeted $254 million for a new interchange at I-30 and SH360 in Arlington. The old interchange with long looping ramps built back in the 1950's to facilitate toll collection on the former Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike is the last remnant of that original construction. The new interchange will require about 17 acres in a fast-developing area that includes the Six-Flags Park and access to the Arlington sports district. 

 

http://www.star-tele...le13221011.html

[johnfwd]

The Texas Transportation Commission has budgeted $254 million for a new interchange at I-30 and SH360 in Arlington. The old interchange with long looping ramps built back in the 1950's to facilitate toll collection on the former Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike is the last remnant of that original construction. The new interchange will require about 17 acres in a fast-developing area that includes the Six-Flags Park and access to the Arlington sports district. 

 

http://www.star-tele...le13221011.html

I wholeheartedly agree!  Going either north or south on 360 by using the I-30 exits has been a crazy ordeal for years.

[RD Milhollin]

Construction on the interchange has begun. S-T editorial:

 

http://www.star-tele...le63895042.html

[JBB]

I was surprised to learn that, unlike when they reworked the interchange at Cooper and I-30, they don't intend to free up much of the land taken up by the cloverleaf ramps to the east of 360. They're planning to extend Six Flags Dr. across 30 to Ave. H where the current north-south bridge sits.

[RD Milhollin]

There doesn't look to be that much unused land around the intersection to free up. I looked at an aerial of the current intersection and compared it at the same scale against other similar highway intersections nearby and it appears pretty hemmed-in. There should be some development potential to the far east side of the project where the new Six Flags Drive will cross I-30, but to the north and south it is tight. Building anything to the immediate west would be ill-advised due to the presence of Johnson Creek, the stream that drains most of Arlington and is prone to significant floods. At some point there may need to be some sort of property adjustment with Six Flags Park so that the creek can be channelized through that area and decrease the bottleneck that currently exists and occasionally closes the park due to high water.

[JBB]

I was mainly talking about the southeast quadrant where they might have freed up some space if they had abandoned the Six Flags Drive extension. Yeah, I know a lot of it would have been taken up with ramps.

Copeland Road from just east of Ballpark Way to Six Flags Dr. where it runs along the perimeter of the park will also be abandoned. That was a major access point for employees when I worked there.

[Jimmy]

I drive through this area several times a week.  Most of the pillars are now up.