PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH TURNPIKE


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 'State Highway 190' ('SH 190') designation. "190 TEXAS" signage appears only along the Garland, Richardson, and Plano sections of the frontage road with the undersign "frontage road only." At intersections with city streets, only the Bush Turnpike signs are displayed, not the "190 TEXAS" signage. Prior to the construction of the main lanes as a tollway, SH 190 was used as the name of the planned main lanes too. Similarly, the part west of IH 35E was planned as part of SH 161. Bush Turnpike is signed as an east-west road east of I-35E and as a north-south road west (i.e., south) of I-35E, as Bush Turnpike makes a nearly 90-degree curve immediately west of its I-35E interchange.
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.
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.

Contents
History
Expansion
Exit list
References
External links

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.
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.
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 plans for the not-yet-constructed main lanes in 1996,, and in 1998 SH 161 was removed from the piece between Belt Line Road and IH 635 (Segment V).

★ '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 the IH 635 airport extension. It covers 5.2 miles and was built at the cost of $339 million. Much of the expense is because the segment is built within the Trinity River wetland and comprises many miles of bridges. Construction began in January 2003 and was completed in October 2005.

★ 'Segment V' (Irving). A 3.9-mile segment connecting the IH 635 airport extension 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.

Expansion


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.) 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).

Exit list


DestinationsTollsNotes
State Highway 183 - Fort Worth; Dallas
westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Rochelle Roadwestbound exit only
Northgate Drive
Walnut Hill Lane
Belt Line Road
barrier toll 10$0.75separate ramp plazas for Belt Line Road traffic (same toll)
State Highway 114 - Royal Lane
$0.40 westbound exit and eastbound entrance
MacArthur Boulevardeastbound exit and westbound entrance
Interstate Highway 635 west - Las Colinas Boulevard; O'Connor Boulevard
Interstate Highway 635 east
eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Valley View Lane
Luna Road; Beltline Road? eastbound exit and westbound entrance
barrier toll$0.75
Sandy Lake Road
Interstate Highway 35E - Dallas; Denton (U.S. Highway 77)
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 entranceeastbound 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 Roadeastbound exit and westbound entrance
U.S. Highway 75
Avenue K; Plano Road (former State Highway 5)westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Jupiter Road
Renner Road$0.40 eastbound exit and westbound entranceeastbound exit and westbound entrance
Shiloh Road; Lookout Drive$0.40 eastbound exit and westbound entranceeastbound exit and westbound entrance
barrier toll 6$0.75
Renner Road$0.40 westbound exit and eastbound entrancewestbound 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 Roadwestbound exit and eastbound entrance
State Highway 78 - Garland; Sachse; Wylie

References


1. Mapquest Driving Directions: part 1 and part 2
2.
3.
4. North Texas Tollway Authority - About Our Roadways
5. Chris Kelley, Construction set to start on long-planned tollway, Dallas Morning News, April 28, 1996
6. TexasFreeway - Historic Dallas / Fort Worth Freeway Planning Maps
7.
8. TexasFreeway - Dallas/Fort Worth Freeway Planning Map, 1971
9.
10. The President George Bush Turnpike: Eastern Extension

External links



North Texas Tollway Authority

Texas Department of Transportation - SH 161 (southern extension)

Texas Freeways: State Highway 190

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