SOUTHLAKE - Grapevine and Southlake are neighbors, but sometimes traffic between the cities is so bad they might as well be long lost cousins.
However, conditions on roads connecting the cities is about to improve, officials say.The new bridge connecting Northwest Highway in Grapevine and Farm Road 1709/Southlake Boulevard in Southlake is scheduled to open no later than Monday morning. It's the latest sign of progress in the DFW Connector project -- a $1 billion makeover of the eight-mile Texas 114/121 corridor in Grapevine.While much of that project is aimed at improving regional mobility for the hundreds of thousands of motorists who navigate the area daily on the northern end of Dallas Fort Worth Airport, this bridge opening will be of particular benefit to local drivers, who use FM 1709 and Northwest Highway as pathways across Texas 114 dividing Grapevine and Southlake."This is actually the widest bridge in the project," said Kristen Schropp, spokeswoman for NorthGate Constructors, which is overseeing the road work. "We will be opening six lanes for now, but ultimately the bridge will be nine lanes wide, including the Texas U-turn on the east side."The new bridge will replace two smaller bridges -- one connecting FM 1709 to Wall Street, and another connecting Northwest Highway to Gateway Drive.Weekend closuresTo make room for the bridge opening, NorthGate will shut down both smaller bridges beginning at 8 p.m. Friday.Detours will be posted. Drivers on the Northwest Highway/Gateway Drive bridge will be urged to use Kimball Avenue, and motorists on FM 1709/Wall Street will be diverted to the Texas 114 frontage road.Frontage roads will be reduced to one lane in each direction.If all goes well, the new bridge could be open as soon as Saturday night, although the official opening time is listed as 6 a.m. Monday, to leave room for weather delays or any other unforeseen problems, officials said.Once the new bridge is open, crews will periodically close the Texas 114 main lanes to begin gradually demolishing the two smaller bridges. Texas 114 is scheduled to be closed 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, 8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Aug. 13 and 8 p.m. Aug. 24 to 6 a.m. Aug. 27.During those closures, freeway traffic will be detoured to the frontage roads.Happy about progressMerchants are just as happy as motorists to hear about DFW Connector progress, said Bob Price, Southlake public works director. Since January, both of the older bridges have been limited to one-way traffic, making it very difficult for motorists to weave their way in and out of the retail areas."You know how confusing that area can be with both the Wall Street bridge and the Gateway bridge, and I think the connection of FM 1709 directly to Northwest Highway is going to help reduce overall driver confusion in that area," Price said. "It's going to keep the majority of the traffic on the main thoroughfare."To align the new bridge with existing roads, some unusual moves had to be made. For example, Gateway Drive will no longer connect directly to Texas 114, near Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation. Instead, the road will connect with FM 1709 near Bank of America.Shoppers trying to get to the area anchored by Kohl's will still be able to get to a retail parking off Gateway Drive, and they also will have access from the Texas 114 frontage road.Another unusual twist in the project: the Gateway Drive/Northwest Highway bridge is being demolished even though it is only 10 years old. The bridge opened in 2002 as part of the Texas 114 extension project in Southlake, Westlake and Roanoke, and eastbound motorists are greeted with a "Welcome to Grapevine" sign on the overpass.When the bridge was built, it was needed for traffic control in the bustling Grapevine/Southlake area. That was before the DFW Connector project final design work had begun, officials said.If officials had wanted to keep the Gateway Drive bridge, they would have had to take additional private property to make the alignment work, Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Val Lopez said. So the decision was made to demolish the bridge instead.The bridge gained attention in 2002 for its new, hand-painted murals by artist Victor Puzanenko of Siberia on the surrounding retaining walls. Each piece of artwork is about three feet wide and features images of bald eagles draped in American flags, World War II airplanes flying above sun-splashed clouds and a countryside with a nature trail, trees and a stream.Those pieces of art will remain on the retaining walls after the bridge demolition is complete, Schropp said.Gordon Dickson, 817-390-7796Twitter: @gdicksonHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
