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• IH 635 (LBJ) Freeway Corridor Study - Project Update
• East Section Focus - Summer 2003
• Managed HOV/Toll Lanes for the West Section - Summer 2003

General Information

Who: Since April of 1993 the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has coordinated the study efforts for the corridor. This study has been accomplished with the cooperation and involvement of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), and the North Texas Toll Authority (NTTA). The community and local governments have made valuable and key contributions to the completed Major Investment Study (MIS) and current configuration of the schematic designs for each section.

What: (General) The LBJ Corridor Study has been broken into four basic sections. These are shown on the inset map on this page; 1) I.H. 635 & U.S 75 Interchange, 2) Mesquite, 3) East, and 4) West. Each of these sections is at various stages of project development. Specific project status is indicated in the table below.

What: (Specific) Improvements for each section are generally listed below. Contact the LBJ Project Office for additional details. Improvements will include bicycle, pedestrian, urban (aesthetic) design and noise mitigation features.

1. Interchange (Dallas High Five) – Construct a 5 level interchange with frontage roads and HOV facilities.
2. Mesquite – Add ramps to Towne Centre Drive, replace bridges and add auxiliary lanes (Phase I is underway)
3. East – Improve with 10 mainlanes, HOV/Toll lanes, and continuous frontage roads.  This includes the I.H. 30 Interchange.
4. West – Improve with 8 mainlanes, 6 HOV/Toll lanes, and continuous frontage roads. This includes the I.H. 35E Interchange.

When: (Schedule) The general approach to implementing the entire corridor work effort was to start with the Dallas High Five first then progress to a combination of these improvements; the Mesquite Section, East Section frontage roads, including various intersection, ramp and auxiliary lane improvements.  Parallel to this effort will be a focus on completing the necessary projects to open and operate the West Section tunnels soon after completing the Dallas High Five (Estimated Completion Jan 2007). Future mainlane, HOV/Toll and major interchange work at I.H. 35E and I.H. 30 to follow, as funding becomes available. A current assessment of where the LBJ projects are in the project development process is shown below.

* Hold Public Hearing, ** Open bids with construction to follow, *** Construction Only in Millions, TBD – To Be Determined

Where: The I.H. 635 (LBJ) Freeway is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The corridor is approximately 21 miles long from west of I.H. 35E to U.S. 80. Belt Line Road and Loop 12 bound the corridor study. Municipalities located adjacent to the freeway include Dallas, Farmers Branch, Garland and Mesquite.

Why: LBJ Freeway was constructed as a loop freeway to the city of Dallas in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s with a design capacity of 160,000 vehicles per day (vpd). Today’s facility is carrying over 270,000 vpd between Preston Road and the Dallas North Tollway (DNT). The increase in traffic over the past three decades is a result of the unpredictable population and employment growth experienced in the North Texas Region. It is also compounded by the lifestyle changes that have occurred which contribute to increased traffic congestion. With this level of congestion concerns relating to safety, noise, air quality, operations, maintenance of our aging freeway and our ability to offer reasonable mobility predictability, become paramount.

LBJ Managed HOV/Toll Lanes: A key feature of the project is the inclusion of the Managed HOV/Toll Lanes. The concept of these lanes institutes the use of Value Pricing. Which is also known as congestion pricing or peak-period pricing, is a way of harnessing the power of the market to reduce the waste associated with congestion. It entails fees or tolls for road use, which could vary with the level of congestion, time of day, occupancy or vehicle type. This ability to offer a mobility option to the commuter and transit agency, which can help leverage the bond markets. The LBJ Managed Lanes would be the most comprehensives of their kind in the United States. The “Regional Value Pricing Corridor Evaluation and Feasibility Study” sponsored by the FHWA had a kick-off meeting on January 13, 2003.

Value Pricing: Has been included as part of the West and East sections with the HOV/Toll facilities. Value Pricing, also known as congestion pricing and peak-period pricing, is a way of harnessing the power of the market to reduce the waste associated with congestion. It entails fees or tolls for road use, which could vary with the level of congestion, time of day, occupancy or vehicle type. A recently completed second traffic and revenue study continues to support the recommendation to include pricing.

Tunnel Study Update: In a further attempt to mitigate community concerns with regard to elevation, right-of-way, noise and traffic disruption TxDOT is proposing that two mined 1.5 to 1.9 mile tunnels be constructed under LBJ Freeway from Preston to Midway. They would connect to transition sections with the Dallas High Five to the East and structured box sections under new frontage roads to the west. These would be the longest and widest mined auto tunnels in the United States.

Tunnel Section – 3 lanes with shoulders (Variations will occur to accommodate ADA and  other safety requirements)

Key Issues and How can you help: Projects of this size are very difficult to fund and implement.  They require a great amount of coordination between the adjacent communities.  For the LBJ Corridor project this effort has been tremendous, and has carried as almost through the planning process.  As the group works toward the design phase continued energy is needed to focus on completing the most critical aspects of the project. Two key issues will be to secure design funding and the necessary approvals to begin the design effort for both the East Section and the West Section.