Plans are on track for I-30/360 interchange in Arlington

When the Interstate 30 interchange with Texas 360 is rebuilt beginning next year, it will become one of the biggest, most intricate highway intersections in North Texas.

The final product will be so big it might someday need a nickname, like the I-30/I-35W “Mixmaster” near downtown Fort Worth, or the I-635/U.S. 75 “High Five” in north Dallas.

“It has a lot of different levels and all new entrances,” said Arlington Councilwoman Kathryn Wilemon, a longtime member of the Regional Transportation Council, which decides how the Metroplex’s highway dollars are spent. “The interchange is almost mind-boggling. It’s a little confusing. They’re going to move a lot of dirt.”

The dirt-moving is tentatively scheduled to begin next spring and will likely take more than four years, said Val Lopez, spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation. State officials are in discussions with area businesses to assuage concerns about access to destinations such as Six Flags Over Texas, AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Ballpark in Arlington.

The project is expected to cost roughly $236 million. Money is coming from Proposition 1, which was approved by voters statewide last fall to dedicate a portion of Texas’ rainy-day fund to improving mobility. The rainy-day fund comes from oil and gas revenues and amounts to an injection of $1.74 billion into the state highway fund.

Old turnpike

Many motorists have wondered for decades why Texas 360, a major north-south corridor, doesn’t connect directly with Interstate 30, a major east-west route connecting Fort Worth and Dallas. Instead, Texas 360 simply passes over I-30, and motorists wishing to transfer from one to the other must take exit ramps to city streets and pass through traffic signals — which can lead to extremely long delays, especially during workday rush hours.

The reason for the confusion is that I-30 was built in 1957 as the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike with long on-ramps so cars could line up to pay tolls. The toll booths were removed in 1977 and the turnpike became a freeway, but the long access ramps remained.

“We’re replacing the old turnpike configuration and delivering a new, direct-connect and modern interchange. We’re going to be replacing that with something you see at the ‘High Five’ or the ‘Mixmaster,’” Lopez said.

New development

Once the project is done, Arlington will benefit not only from better mobility but also from new areas of highway frontage opening up for development.

For example, after the cloverleaf-shaped ramp from Six Flags Drive to I-30 is removed, Six Flags Drive will be extended to Avenue H near the Crowne Plaza Suites hotel, opening up an area that is now difficult to access. The Six Flags Drive bridge over I-30, now two lanes wide, will be expanded to five lanes.

The corridor also includes managed toll lanes connecting Arlington and Dallas, and more I-30 main lanes will be added in future years as funding becomes available, according to the plans.

The state already owns most of the land needed for the project, although about 17 acres of additional right of way is needed. Most of the property in the area is entertainment and retail.

Access concerns

Area businesses are concerned about maintaining access to their properties, especially if the road work continues through 2020.

The long-term benefit of improved access makes it worth the headache, said Rob Matwick, executive vice president of business operations for the Texas Rangers baseball club, which plays at Globe Life Ballpark.

Another massive project in the area was completed fewer than five years ago. That work, known as the “Three Bridges project,” included a complete overhaul of I-30 in Arlington that included lowering the main lanes by more than 20 feet to make room for several modernized bridges.

During that work, officials with the Rangers, Six Flags Over Texas and other destinations in the area coped with daily problems related to detours and traffic delays. But once the work was completed — just before the February 2011 Super Bowl at what is now called AT&T Stadium — the city’s entertainment district enjoyed unprecedented access.

“We have been participating in as many of the TxDOT open houses and planning sessions as we can to understand the impacts on the entertainment district while this project is being built,” Matwick said in an email. “It’s a substantial amount of time, but we also understand the critical importance of this work.”

Sharon Parker, spokeswoman for Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor, added, “We are working closely with our entertainment district partners, the city of Arlington, and the Texas Department of Transportation to create the most convenient, hassle-free access to our theme park and water park, as well as to other entities in and around our area, throughout the construction process.”

This story was originally published July 5, 2015 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Plans are on track for I-30/360 interchange in Arlington."