Interstate 635 (Texas)

Interstate 635 (I-635) is a 37-mile-long (60 km) partial loop around Dallas, Texas, in the United States between I-20 in Balch Springs and State Highway 121 (SH 121) at the north entrance of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW Airport) in Grapevine. It intersects I-35E at exits 27B and 27C, but does not connect with I-35W. I-635 and a part of I-20 are collectively designated as the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway; known locally as the LBJ Freeway, or simply LBJ. The roadway is named after Lyndon B. Johnson, the former US Senator from Texas, 37th Vice President, and the 36th President of the United States. Where I-635 ends at I-20, I-20 continues the LBJ Freeway designation heading west. Since the portion of I-20 between State Highway Spur 408 (Spur 408) to I-635 retains the same names as I-635, the two highways are considered 3/4 of the beltway around Dallas. Together with Spur 408, a portion of State Highway Loop 12 (Loop 12, Walton Walker Freeway), and a portion of I-35E, the Stemmons Freeway, I-635 and I-20 complete the beltway.

Interstate 635 marker

Interstate 635

Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway
I-635 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-35
Maintained by TxDOT
Length36.999 mi[1][2] (59.544 km)
ExistedOctober 1, 1959[1]–present
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
South end I-20 in Balch Springs
Major intersections
West end SH 121 / International Parkway near DFW Airport
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountiesDallas, Tarrant
Highway system
I-610 I-820

Route description

I-635 signage on the Dallas North Tollway frontage road. Galleria Dallas can be seen in the background.

I-635 begins at an intersection with I-20 in southeast Dallas and travels northward through Balch Springs into Mesquite, where it intersects U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) at exits 6A and 6B and I-30 at exits 8A and 8B. The route then turns to the northwest, continuing near the border between Dallas and Garland. Six miles (9.7 km) later, it takes a general westward turn as it intersects US 75 at exits 19A and 19B at the High Five Interchange. The section from I-35E to US 75 (Central Expressway) is one of the busiest stretches of road in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, at virtually all hours of the day and night. The route continues west, intersecting the Dallas North Tollway at exit 22B–C and its original terminus, I-35E in Farmers Branch at exits 27B and 27C. The freeway then continues to the northwest, intersecting the President George Bush Turnpike at exit 30 westbound and exit 29B eastbound in Irving before arriving at its final terminus at SH 121 at the north entrance to the DFW Airport.

History

A 1955 map of the Interstate Highway plan

I-635 was originally designated by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in 1959 as a loop around the eastside of Dallas, connecting with I-35E to the northwest and southwest sides of the city.

In January 1969, the first section to open to motorists was a 10-mile (16 km) section from US 75 (now SH 310) near Hutchins to Barnes Bridge in Mesquite. In February 1970, the highway from US 75 westward to I-35E northwest of Dallas opened to traffic. The I-635 designation was truncated on December 2, 1971 when I-20 was rerouted south of Dallas, taking over 13 miles (21 km) of I-635's former route.[1]

The connecting section of I-20 from the west was not completed until 1978. Initially, the section between I-35E and US 80 in southeast Dallas was concurrent with I-20. When the outlet for I-20 from southeast of Dallas to Terrell was completed, the I-635 designation was removed from I-35E to its intersection with I-20.

On April 1, 1968, Texas State Highway Loop 635 (Loop 635) was designated from I-35E and I-635 to Spur 459 at the north entrance of DFW Airport. Spur 459 became part of a rerouted SH 121 on July 31, 1969. On July 31, 1974, Loop 635 was redesignated as part of I-635, and this section was opened in the 1980s.[3]

Later changes

The High Five construction project (so called because it is five levels and rises almost 120 feet (37 m) above the lowest level), a rebuild of the interchange of I-635 and US 75, was opened for traffic in February 2006. This interchange carries over 500,000 vehicles per day and was built as the largest interchange in the state of Texas to handle this vehicle load.

Express project

A $2.7 billion (equivalent to $3.26 billion in 2021[4]) project was started on May 16, 2011, to widen I-635 and dig subsequent high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane tunnels beneath the primary roadway from I-35E to the High Five Interchange, a length of 8 miles (13 km). Construction time was estimated in 2011 at five years and was completed and opened for traffic on September 10, 2015. [5][6] The new highway features tolled express lanes, known as TEXpress lanes, in between the main lanes or underneath them. The cost to drive on them fluctuates based on the current flow of traffic at the time. The project is among several billion dollar plus projects in the planning phase in and around downtown Dallas along with the rebuild of the I-35E/I-30 "Mixmaster".[7]

Exit list

CountyLocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
DallasBalch Springs0.000.00
I-20 west Fort Worth
Southern terminus; exit 480 on I-20; former I-635 south
0.050.080 US 175Northbound entrance only; I-20 exit 479A
0.10.161C
I-20 east Shreveport
Southbound exit and northbound entrance; exit 480B on I-20
0.40.641ASeagoville Road
1.52.41BElam Road
2.64.22Lake June Road
Mesquite3.65.83W. Cartwright Road / Bruton Road
5.08.04 SH 352 (Military Parkway / Scyene Road)
5.99.55Gross Road / Galloway Avenue
6.610.66 US 80 Dallas, TerrellSigned as exits 6A (west) and 6B (east)
8.113.07ATowne Centre DriveSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
7.512.17BTown East BoulevardSigned as exit 7 northbound
8.714.08 I-30 (US 67) Dallas, TexarkanaSigned as exits 8A (west) and 8B (east); exits 56B-C on I-30
9.715.69AOates Drive / Galloway Avenue
Express LanesClosed; was northbound exit and southbound entrance
MesquiteGarland line10.817.49BLa Prada DriveEastbound exit and westbound entrance; signage changes to east-west here
Garland11.418.311ACenterville Road / Ferguson Road
12.219.611BNorthwest Highway / Shiloh Road
13.421.612 SH 78 (Garland Road)Westbound access via exit 11B
GarlandDallas line13.922.413Jupiter Road / Kingsley Road / Walnut Hill Lane
DallasExpress LanesClosed; was westbound exit and eastbound entrance to Managed HOV Lane
15.224.514Plano Road / Church Road / New Church Road
16.025.715 Miller Road / Royal LaneAccess to LBJ/Skillman Station
16.626.716Skillman Street / Audelia Road
Express LanesClosed; westbound exit and eastbound entrance to Managed HOV Lane
17.628.317Forest Lane / Abrams Road
18.229.318AGreenville Avenue / TI BoulevardSigned as exit 18 westbound; eastbound signed as "Greenville Ave." only
Express LanesClosed; eastbound exit and westbound entrance to Managed HOV Lane

I-635 Express west
Eastern terminus of managed HOV Lanes; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
19.531.418B TI BoulevardWestbound access is part of exit 18; to LBJ/Central Station
TOTI BoulevardManaged HOV Lanes access only
18.830.319A US 75 Dallas, McKinneyHigh Five Interchange; exit 21 on US 75

US 75 north (HOV Lanes) to Spring Creek Parkway
Managed HOV Lanes access only; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
19.631.519BCoit Road
20.232.520Park Central Drive / Hillcrest RoadAccess to Managed HOV Lanes Eastbound
21.534.621 SH 289 (Preston Road) / Montfort Drive
Farmers BranchDallas line22.836.722BDallas Parkway / Inwood Road / Montfort Drive / Welch RoadNo direct eastbound exit (signed at exit 22D)
23.237.322C-D Dallas North TollwaySigned as exits 22C (north) and 22D (south)
24.138.823Midway Road / Welch Road
25.240.624Marsh LaneAccess to Managed HOV Lanes Eastbound
25.841.525Webb Chapel Road / Josey Lane / Denton Drive / Harry Hines BoulevardDirect exit from Managed HOV lanes
Dallas I-35E Express Dallas, DentonWestbound exit and eastbound entrance from Managed HOV Lanes
27.844.727B-C I-35E (US 77) Dallas, DentonSigned as exits 27B (north) and 27C (south); exits 440B-C on I-35E

I-635 Express east
Western terminus of Managed HOV lanes
Farmers Branch29.046.728Luna Road
Irving30.048.329 Pres. George Bush Turnpike / Las Colinas BoulevardSigned as exits 29 (north) and 30 (south) westbound, 29A (south) and 29B (north) eastbound
30.749.431 MacArthur BoulevardAccess to Las Colinas Medical Center
31.951.331BOlympus BoulevardEastbound exit via exit 31
CoppellIrving line32.852.833Belt Line Road
34.956.234Freeport Parkway
Coppell35.857.635Royal Lane
TarrantGrapevine36.658.936CBass Pro Drive / Bethel RoadWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
36.759.136A
SH 121 south / SH 114 Fort Worth, DFW Airport, Dallas
Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
36.959.436B

SH 121 north / FM 2499 north (Grapvine Mills Parkway) / Stars and Stripes Way McKinney
Western terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Interstate Highway No. 635". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  2. DeSimone, Tony (October 31, 2002). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002". Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved September 9, 2007.
  3. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway Loop No. 635". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  4. Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved January 1, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series.
  5. Betz, Jonathan (May 16, 2011). "HOV lanes close on LBJ Freeway as 5-year, $2.7 billion makeover begins in North Dallas". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
  6. Wheeler, Jason. "After long road, LBJ Express project set to open". WFAA. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  7. NTTA. "Trinity Parkway". Retrieved 20 September 2015.
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