E-Mail Us
Districts, Divisions, Offices I'm not sure Audit Aviation Bridge Construction Design Environmental Affairs Finance General Counsel General Services Government and Public Affairs Human Resources International Relations Maintenance Motor Carrier Occupational Safety Office of Civil Rights Public Transportation Research and Technology Implementation Right of Way Technology Services Texas Turnpike Authority Traffic Operations Transportation Planning and Programming Travel Information TxDOT Administration Texas Transportation Commission Abilene Amarillo Atlanta Austin Beaumont Brownwood Bryan Childress Corpus Christi Dallas El Paso Fort Worth Houston Laredo Lubbock Lufkin Odessa Paris Pharr San Angelo San Antonio Tyler Waco Wichita Falls Yoakum Web Administrator

The Fort Worth District is currently planning improvements for the SH 114/SH 121 corridors located north of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Tarrant and Dallas Counties. The limits of the study involve SH 114 from BS 114L to International Parkway and SH 121 from SH 360 to the SH 121 Bypass near Lewisville.

After considering the realm of alternatives that would help relieve congestion along the corridors, the addition of general purpose freeway lanes, express/managed lanes, or high occupancy vehicle lanes within the median of SH 114 were determined to be viable. The addition of express/managed lanes (Managed Facility) has been selected as the preferred alternative as it accommodates the largest volume of non-stop trips through this corridor.

The Managed Facility combines the mobility benefits of express lanes and high occupancy vehicle lanes, offering greater flexibility in controlling congestion. It will accommodate both high occupancy vehicles and single occupancy vehicles providing opportunities for congestion management through a combination of three variables: hours of operation, auto occupancy, and value/toll pricing.

The existing freeway section where SH 114 and SH 121 converge consist of four through lanes each direction. Recommended improvements within this section include ten general purpose freeway lanes and four lanes in the managed facility. This section will provide five general purpose freeway lanes and two managed lanes each direction throughout the day. The lanes of the managed facility are proposed to be utilized for through travel on SH 114. The frontage roads will also receive additional capacity as they will be reconstructed from two to three lanes.

Improvements for the freeway interchanges, freeway ramps, and local street intersections with frontage roads throughout the corridors are also being planned. These improvements will promote regional mobility and air quality by increasing total average traffic speeds and lessening congestion levels.

Specific areas where congestion levels will dramatically decrease include local intersections and the through movements of SH 114 and SH 121. Approximately 45% of the traffic on SH 114 desire to simply travel through the corridor and remain on SH 114. The Managed Facility will allow this express movement through the corridor by separating their trip from vehicles currently changing numerous lanes to maneuver from SH 121 to SH 114.

Travel time for motorists desiring to traverse from SH 121 to SH 114 near the western termini of the project corridors in Tarrant County will also dramatically decrease. Currently, drivers must travel to the frontage roads and through two local street intersections to travel from northbound SH 121 or SH 360 to westbound SH 114. Proposed improvements depict future direct connections between SH 121 or SH 360 and SH 114 in this location.

Congestion levels along the main lanes of SH 121 between FM 2499 and the SH 121 Bypass will also dramatically decrease. The existing section consists of a divided four lane highway with frontage roads and at-grade intersections. The intersection of Sandy Lake Road and SH 121 within these limits is one of the most congested in the metroplex. Proposed improvements describe reconstructing this stretch of highway to a ten-lane freeway with grade-separated interchanges included at the locations of Sandy Lake Road and Freeport Parkway.

Motorists will benefit by both the large-scale and small-scale improvements proposed throughout the project. Regional mobility and air quality will largely be promoted through the major improvements planned for the corridors of SH 114 and SH 121 and the major interchanges of IH 635W, FM 2499 and SH 360 with these corridors. Minor improvements planned for the local street intersections with frontage roads will also alleviate local congestion levels.