HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8613 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8613
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council July 6, 2004
Page 1 of 2
• SUBJECT: Roadway Improvements in North Fort Worth - Update
on IH-35W (North) Corridor Study
At the June 8 City Council meeting, staff was asked to provide information on roadway improvements in
north Fort Worth to handle traffic generated by new developments such as Cabela's and other existing
and planned development adjacent to the IH-35W corridor. Information regarding the IH-35W corridor is
provided below.
The IH 35W Corridor from Downtown Fort Worth through the Alliance Airport area has been heavily
congested for some time, and will only continue to worsen as rapid residential, commercial, and even light
industrial developments take place. The first phase of City's Mobility and Air Quality (MAQ) Plan, the
Transportation Gap Analysis, forecasts severe congestion levels along the entire IH 35W Corridor
between the Fort Worth CBD and the City of Denton by 2030. This occurs even with all of the planned
improvements in place (two additional general-purpose lanes in each direction between the Fort Worth
CBD and the Denton/Tarrant County Line and one additional general-purpose lane in each direction
between the Denton/Tarrant County Line and the City of Denton). Further study during Phase 11 of the
MAQ Plan will yield additional transportation alternatives to help absorb the heavy demand that will
continue to grow.
TxDOT began a Corridor Study in the early 1990s for the IH 35W Corridor between Downtown Fort Worth
, nd Loop 820. However, when the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) was signed
into law in 1991, work came to a stop as TxDOT began to deal with how best to fulfill the new Major
Investment Study (MIS) requirement found within ISTEA. TxDOT began work on an MIS for IH-35W from
Downtown to IH-820 in the late 1990's. Currently, the NTTA and TxDOT are embarking on a preliminary
toll feasibility study along this corridor. This study includes the portions of IH 35W from Downtown Fort
Worth to near Alliance Airport and the Texas Motor Speedway.
Two options are currently being studied:
• The MIS is looking at the addition of four general-purpose lanes in each direction with a one lane
reversible HOV/managed lane facility in the median. This would stretch along IH 35W between
Downtown Fort Worth and Loop 820.
• The NTTA/TxDOT Toll Feasibility Study will examine adding a 4-lane managed toll lane facility (two
lanes each direction) along IH 35W from Downtown Fort Worth past the Alliance Airport area and
the Texas Motor Speedway.
Once the Toll Feasibility Study begins (likely this August), the NTTA and TxDOT will have six weeks to
complete the study. Following completion, TxDOT is expecting to resume work on the IH 35W MIS, which
will include recommendations from the Toll Feasibility Study, but they do not have plans to extend their
MIS north of Loop 820. A public meeting will be scheduled late this fall.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
.............
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS NO- 8613
ir To the Mayor and Members of the City Council July 6, 2004
Page 2 of 2
SUBJECT: Roadway Improvements in North Fort Worth - Update
on IH-35W (North) Corridor Study
The lH 35W Corridor is one of 11 roadway corridors that were included recently in efforts to expedite
improvements to priority roadways in the D-FW region. These two efforts include the Regional
Transportation Council's (RTC) Partnership Program 1 and Partners in Mobility.
• The Partnership Program is the RTC's process for the strategic allocation of federal funding to
priority corridors in order to expedite improvements to these corridors. Because IH 35W is one of
several corridors included, these projects (with the highest priority for member communities)will be
completed before other remaining projects within Mobility 2025: 2004 Update.
• Partners in Mobility is a public/private sector coalition made up of the Dallas Regional Mobility
Coalition, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Dallas Chamber, NCTCOG/RTC, the
North Texas Commission, and the Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition. Partners in Mobility
strive to improve regional mobility through effective advocacy, focusing on education, collaboration,
coordination, and unity as cornerstones for building regional consensus. The IH 35W Corridor is
included as one of this region's high-priority near-term roadway investments by the Partners in
Mobility Coalition.
a Ja4con
a
City ranager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
.................................. ----_-