Third phase of Sam Rayburn Tollway linking Dallas Fort Worth Airport to Collin County opens September 1

by PegNews wire

Motorists traveling the Sam Rayburn Tollway will have an additional 3.37 miles to travel on after a portion of the SRT's third phase opens Sept. 1, 2009 -- four months ahead of the North Texas Tollway Authority/Texas Department of Transportation project agreement schedule.

The portion that is slated to open Sept. 1 extends from Hillcrest Road to just north of Custer Road. The entire third phase is just over seven miles long and extends from Hillcrest Road to Hardin Boulevard. The remaining 3.78 miles should open later this fall.

"We are extremely pleased to be able to open a large portion of this phase four months early," said Gerry Carrigan, assistant executive director of project delivery. "Our crews have worked very hard to achieve this based on this area's need for mobility solutions."

The third phase is the next in the SRT corridor, which stretches 26 miles southwest to northeast, linking the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and growing communities in Collin, Dallas and Denton counties. The first two phases are open to traffic and extend from Denton Tap Road in Coppell to Hillcrest Road on the Plano/Frisco line. Once complete, the third phase will round out nearly 23 miles of vital roadway needed for improved mobility.

The SRT has two additional phases to be constructed:

* Segment 4 - from Hardin Boulevard to east of Medical Center Drive including the SRT/U.S. 75 interchange; scheduled to open by January 2011.

* Segment 5 - consists of adding direct-connect bridges to the SRT at the Dallas North Tollway; scheduled to open by January 2012.

When complete, the SRT will feature six main lanes and all-electronic toll collection.

Source: NTTA