NTTA to break ground on PGBT Far East - 10 miles, $1 billion

North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) are breaking ground on the farthest east portion of the President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT) Thursday Aug 21 in a ceremony for local bigwigs wielding bright shovels and silly looking hardhats over suits. At least it is scheduled for a sensible 9am before the fierce Texas summer sun rises too high in the sky. Despite the ritual playacting for the idiot-box cameras and the self-congratulatory speeches that no one will remember a word of five minutes afterwards, the project is another piece of a comprehensive and quality road network and improved mobility in the eastern part of the Dallas metro region.

An extra 16km (9.9 miles) will be added clockwise to the 49km (30.5 mile) partial belt route presently running between 9am and 1pm on the clockface. This is the 1pm to 2pm segment.

Of 3+3 travel lanes like the rest of the PGBT the far eastern segment will take this important toll highway beyond its present end at a surface arterials TX78 and Firewheel Parkway to a more logical terminus on I-30, the major east-west expressway through the region. The project is located in the cities of Garland, Sachse and Rowlett.

The project got final permitting in January 2005 and since then right of way acquisition, utilities relocation and final design has been under way.

Frontage road lanes

About two thirds of the length of the latest extension has typical Texas frontage roads alongside so most of the interchange movement is via slip ramps between the frontage roads and the expressway lanes.

There are more conventional expressway-to-expressway interchanges at either end.

Tolling all-electronic

Tolling will be all-electronic and cashless, levied at one mainline toll gantry point and six pairs of ramp toll points.

The opening of PGBT far east (FE) segment will coincide with the conversion to all-electronic toll collection of the rest of the NTTA network.

At the southern end of the PGBT/FE there will be a near mile-long (1600m) bridge carrying the turnpike over the artificial Lake Ray Hubbard, originally a water supply reservoir.

There are also bridges over six arterial roads and one creek.

Overall cost of the project is put at $1,040m. It is due to open in 2011.

TEXAN LOOPINESS: NTTA refers Texas-fashion to the PGBT as a "partial loop." What other Americans tend to call a belt route or beltway Texans call a "Loop" but the term loop is also needed to describe the 270 degree inside turning ramp on an interchange.

And, as if to make monkeys of themselves in Austin their capital Loop-1 aka MoPac Expressway is straight - going from the northern edge of the Austin metro area to the southern without any semblance of circularity or loopiness.

Regional differences of language have their charm.

In Atlanta they call their belt route (I-285) the Perimeter, the lack of any noun leaving outsiders to ask perimeter what? It is an especially inapt term in that the Atlanta Perimeter something-or-other is an inner oval shaped route with most of the area population located outside it. Georgia's large metro area lacks any highways on or even near the 21st century perimeter.

The French use the term Peripherique, or the Peripheral, and the British "ring road."

TOLLROADSnews 2008-08-18