Texas State Highway 121

SH 121 Business west from I-35E towards Grapevine

Sections between downtown Fort Worth and Grapevine are freeway, including a small segment near Hurst that coincides with Interstate 820. At Bedford, Texas it has an interchange with SH 183, the Irving freeway that leads toward Dallas; it has an interchange with SH 360, which leads toward Arlington, just to the west of the north entrance to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, to which State Highway 121 gives access. At Grapevine it has interchanges with SH 114 and Interstate 635 before becoming a limited-access tollway that passes between Lewisville and Frisco.

Signage originally used on the tolled mainlanes of SH 121 (now the Sam Rayburn Tollway) from 2006 to 2009.

It is very heavily traveled south and west of McKinney and has become an urban highway due to the rapid growth of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Service roads extending southwest to northeast along the corridor from Lewisville to McKinney are free of charge; however the main lanes within the right-of-way are tolled as part of the Sam Rayburn Tollway operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA). The highway's northeastern section between Melissa and Bonham carries less traffic and until recently was a two-lane rural highway. However, in recent years with an increase in traffic, the 19 mile section between the Collin–Fannin county line and its junction with SH 56 in Bonham has been upgraded to a "Super Two" highway system. This allows for alternating passing lanes. Beginning in 2016, the segment between Melissa and the Collin–Fannin county line is being upgraded to a four-lane divided highway system. In addition, a two-mile stretch between SH 56 and US 82 within Bonham city limits, was upgraded to a four-lane highway system with a continuous left-hand turn lane. Long term planning calls for upgrading the 19 mile stretch, from the Collin–Fannin county line to SH 56 in Bonham, into a four-lane divided highway system.

It meets Interstate 35E at Lewisville, SH 289 near Frisco, US 75 and US 380 in McKinney, US 69 at Trenton, and SH 78 just north of Bonham.

Construction began in 2009 on the extension of 121 south from Fort Worth to Cleburne, as a toll road called Chisholm Trail Parkway in Tarrant and Johnson Counties. This section is operated by the NTTA and the entire project, from I-30 to U.S. 67 opened to traffic in 2013.[2]

In March 2009, work was completed on the eventual southbound lanes on a short stretch of 121 northeast of DFW Airport, which currently shares southbound and northbound traffic. This work upgraded two signalized at-grade intersections to a freeway, with overpasses at both intersections, improving traffic in that area.[3] The northbound freeway lanes are currently under construction, which also include new, separate exits and entrances for Freeport Parkway and Grapevine Mills Boulevard/Sandy Lake Road.

Interchange between SH 121 and SH 121 Business Route

From McKinney to Coppell, State Highway 121 acts as a frontage road to Sam Rayburn Tollway, contrary to the popular misconception that the Sam Rayburn Tollway was the new SH 121.

SH 121 was originally numbered on March 17, 1927, as a direct routing between Fort Worth and SH 40 near the Dallas–Denton county line.[9] On April 24, 1928, it was extended to McKinney.[10] By 1933, the route had been completed from Ft. Worth northeast through Grapevine to its intersection with SH 40/U.S. Route 77 in far southern Denton County. On July 15, 1935, the east end was truncated to the Denton–Dallas county line.[11] On January 6, 1939, the section from the Dallas–Denton county line to SH 40/US 77 was restored.[12] A road was designated on February 21, 1938, from SH 114 to SH 121; either SH 114 Loop or SH 121 Loop. This was renumbered as Loop 10 on September 26, 1939.[13]

On November 24, 1941, SH 121 was extended from old US 77 to new US 77. On December 16, 1943, the section of SH 121 from US 77 (former SH 40) to McKinney was restored, and the ambitious plan to extend SH 121 northeast beyond McKinney to Bonham was approved by TxDOT, a part of which absorbed Farm to Market Road 82 between Bonham and Trenton. The section from Bonham to Randolph was designated as SH 263 until March 21, 1939. It was not until 1954 that the next section of this highway was completed between U.S. 77 at Lewisville and U.S. Route 75 near McKinney. The final section between McKinney and Trenton was not completed until November 20, 1963, including an extension around the western side of Bonham. In 1965, the section from downtown Fort Worth to Interstate 820 was transferred to newly completed freeway sections. On November 31, 1969, SH 121 was rerouted over Spur 459, which was cancelled. The old route of SH 121 was given to the city of Grapevine.

TxDOT proposed extending SH 121 to FM 1187, via a route to be known as the Northside–Southwest Freeway, on October 4, 1973.[14] This proposed extension was canceled on August 29, 1985.[15]

On April 14, 1980, SH 121 was relocated in Bedford and Grapevine. On November 18, 1999, SH 121 was rerouted over Spur 553, which was cancelled. The old route of SH 121 became Business SH 121. On February 27, 2003, the SH 121 designation was extended to US 67 in Cleburne. This extension, known as the Chisholm Trail Parkway (CTP), was built in stages from 2008 to 2014 and opened to traffic on May 11, 2014. The CTP's frontage roads in southwest Fort Worth are signed as SH 121.

• Chisholm Trail Parkway
• Sam Rayburn Tollway

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Texas State Highway 121.

• Denton & Collin County section of SH 121 - from dfwfreeways.info