Saturday, September 10, 2005

Consortium submits proposal to TxDOT: Texas 161 to be another toll road.

Toll road proposed to ease traffic

Sep. 10, 2005

By GORDON DICKSON

Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright 2005

A private group wants to build Texas 161 as a toll road parallel to Texas 360, giving relief to one of Tarrant County's most clogged freeways.

The toll road would stretch from Interstate 20 in Grand Prairie to Texas 183 in Irving and hook into the President George Bush Turnpike to the north. Tarrant County drivers would have a more direct route to destinations as far as north Garland.

The proposal was submitted to the Texas Department of Transportation by the financing firm AECOM Enterprises and Southern Gateway Consortium, a group that includes J.D. Abrams, Turner Collie & Braden, DMJM Harris and Maunsell.

State law allows details to be kept confidential until the Texas Transportation Commission decides whether to seek competing bids, possibly in a month or two. The final decision may take a year or more, leaving precious little time for construction if the road is going to help traffic flow at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium, to open in 2009.

The project wouldn't take away funds from other road work scheduled on Texas 360, including the Interstate 30 interchange, Division Street overpass and I-30 toll express lanes, officials said.

Gordon Dickson, (817) 685-3816
gdickson@star-telegram.com


Fort Worth Star-Telegram: www.dfw.com

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