The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) completed the Southern Gateway Project on November 30. On the same day, the Southeast Connector Project broke ground near Dallas-Fort Worth.
The $666 million Southern Gateway Project began in 2018, and finished on time per the project's website. The goal of the rebuild is to improve safety, provide congestion relief and improve system linkage on a corridor that’s ranked among the most congested in Texas.
Still outstanding is some construction work on the deck park covering I-35 near the Dallas Zoo.
“The Southern Gateway illustrates how a highway project can help reconnect and enhance communities,” said State Senator Royce West in the TXDOT press release. “This project, which finished on time and on budget, will serve southern Dallas well for decades to come.”
The rebuild was partially funded through the Clear Lanes Initiative, a Texas DOT effort to address traffic jams in the most affected metropolitan areas. Clear Lanes projects are now included in the state’s $85 billion Unified Transportation Program, a key 10-year planning tool.
The Southeast Connector Project's goal is to relieve traffic delays and facilitate trade, increase safety and improve efficiency. It will tie in the east and southeast part of Tarrant County, the state’s third most populated county, to the central area where Fort Worth is located.
The project is a 16-mile, $1.6 billion effort to widen I-20 and I-820 and rebuild interchanges between the two freeways and Highway 287.
According to TXDOT, it is slated to be finished in 2027.
“The Southeast Connector project has afforded increased economic opportunities for businesses located right here in our community, and will continue to do so as construction advances,” said State Representative Nicole Collier in the TXDOT press release.
-------------------------------------------
Source: TXDOT
