Fort Worth

The city of Fort Worth had two priorities for construction in the late 1940s, the South Freeway (I-35W) and the West Freeway (I-30). Construction began on this highway in 1948, and the first section was opened on September 3, 1951, west of Downtown Fort Worth. The remainder of the route in the built-up area of ​​Fort Worth was opened until 1960, and continued west of the city to I-20 in 1966 and 1975. In 1975, the interchange between I-30 and I-820 west of Fort Worth opened to traffic. In the 1980s, the West Freeway was widened to 2×4 lanes. The highway still has a space reservation for 2×5 lanes.

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Dallas – Fort Worth Turnpike

The Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike was a 50-mile toll road connecting the two cities, in service from 1957 to 1977, after which the road became part of Interstate 30. It is the only connection between downtown Fort Worth and Dallas. The construction had already been proposed in 1944, but construction started in 1955. The 50 kilometers was already ready for traffic in 1957. By 1977 toll revenues had exceeded construction costs, and the road came under the control of the Texas Department of Transportation, thus making it toll-free. The highway was numbered I-20 until 1971, when the current I-20 opened south of I-30.

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Dallas – Texarkana

I-30 was built between Dallas and Texarkana since the 1950s. Already in the early 1950s there was a double-lane section from Greenville to Sulfur Springs, but it is unclear whether this was already a freeway at that time. I-30 is built right over US 67 between Greenville and Sulfur Springs. As early as 1960, I-30 was accessible from Dallas to Sulfur Springs. In the mid-1960s, I-30 opened between Sulfur Springs and Mount Pleasant, as well as from New Boston to Texarkana. The last section of I-30 between Mount Pleasant and New Boston opened to traffic in 1970 or 1971.

Opening history

Fort Worth

From	Unpleasant	Length	Opening
Montgomery Street	Summit Avenue	2.9 km	03-09-1951
Camp Bowie Boulevard	Montgomery Street	3.2 km	10-11-1951
Summit Avenue	Henderson Street	0.5 km	02-06-1954
Alta Mere Drive	Camp Bowie Boulevard	3.5 km	01-12-1955
Henderson Street	Lamar Street	0.5 km	29-03-1958
Lamar Street	I-35W	1.2 km	17-03-1960
Camp Bowie West Boulevard	Alta Mere Drive	8.0 km	00-00-1966
I-20	Camp Bowie West Boulevard	4.5 km	00-00-1975

Dallas

From	Unpleasant	Length	Opening
I-35W	I-35E	48.3 km	27-08-1957
Ferguson Road	Jim Miller Road	2.2 km	00-00-1961
Jim Miller Road	rock wall	26.7 km	00-00-1962
Grand Avenue	Ferguson Road	2.7 km	20-10-1962
Carroll Avenue	Grand Avenue	1.4 km	20-02-1963
Malcolm X Boulevard	Carroll Avenue	1.9 km	02-10-1964
I-35E	Akard Street	1.1 km	00-00-1965
Akard Street	Malcolm X Boulevard	1.6 km	28-04-1966

Dallas – Texarkana

From	Unpleasant	Length	Opening
Greenville	cumby	25 km	~1954
Sulfur Springs (west)	Sulfur Springs (East)	11 km	~1957
rock wall	Royse City	16 km	~1957
Royse City	Greenville	31 km	~1959
cumby	Sulfur Springs (west)	13 km	~1959
Sulfur Springs (East)	weaver	13 km	~1964
weaver	Mount Pleasant (US 271)	44 km	~1966
New Boston (U.S.82)	Texarkana (state line)	40 km	~1966
Mount Pleasant	New Boston	60 km	~1970

Later adjustments

Reconstruction in Fort Worth

The Fort Worth Mixmaster with the I-35W.

The interchange between I-30 and I-35W at Downtown Fort Worth, otherwise known as the “Mixmaster,” opened partially in 1958 and wholly in 1960. It was the first four-level interchange in Texas. The Mixmaster was built according to the design requirements of the 1950s, with tight connecting roads and left-hand in and out. The space required by the node was relatively limited. The interchange was significantly reconstructed in the early 2000s, in fact completely newly built with a much larger capacity. The reconstruction was completed in 2003.

Also known as the West Freeway in Fort Worth, I-30 was constructed to 1940s design requirements. This proved to be problematic in the early 1970s, which is why I-30 west of Downtown Fort Worth was reconstructed fairly early, between 1987 and 1990 a 5 kilometer section between Camp Bowie Drive and University Drive was reconstructed and widened to 2×4 lanes.

Near Downtown Fort Worth, I-30 has been completely relocated to the south. The highway originally ran on an overpass above Lancaster Avenue. Over a distance of 2.5 kilometers, I-30 has been shifted here 250 meters to the south over a former shunting yard. This coincided with the reconstruction of the Mixmaster Interchange. It opened in 2001, two years before the reconstruction of the Mixmaster was complete.

Then there was another narrow and outdated section between University Drive and Summit Avenue, a two-mile stretch that ran between the 1990 reconstruction and the 2001 relocation. This section was only addressed with the construction of the Chisholm Trail Parkway, between 2012 and 2016 I-30 was completely redeveloped with braids and flyovers at the junction with the Chisholm Trail Parkway.

Upgrade Fort Worth – Dallas

I-30 at SH 161 in Grand Prairie.

The original Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike opened in 1957 and was the first interstate highway in the Dallas-Fort Worth area constructed to modern design requirements. However, the turnpike had no guide rail in the median, just a raised curb. A guide rail was added in 1972. The toll road was originally constructed with 2×3 lanes. In 1978, the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike was acquired by the Texas Department of Transportation and then became toll-free.

The highway remained in its original condition for a long time as it was in the 1950’s, apart from resurfacing and the construction of some interchanges with intersecting highways, the highway was little modified until after 2000. The first I-30 was constructed in Grand Prairie, Between Belt Line Road and Loop 12, an 8 km long alternating lane was completed in 2003. However, the switch lane would remain unused for years. In 2007-2009, the interchange was extended west past SH 161 and east to Westmoreland Road. This completed alternating lane was also not actually used. In 2016-2017 the alternating lane was widened to a 2-lane interchangeable lane, and has since been called the I-30 TEXpress lanes. Toll collection has been introduced here. On April 23, 2017, an extension of the interchange opened up to Sylvan Avenue in Dallas, where it connects to the Dallas Horseshoe Project, a major project that included the reconstruction of I-30 and I-35E around Downtown Dallas through 2017.

Between 2008 and 2011, a small section of I-30 through Arlington was widened from 2×3 lanes to 3+1+2+1+3 lanes, with free HOV lanes and a long unused interchange lane. On 1 August 2016, the interchangeable lane with toll collection was put into use. As of 2017, the interchange lane has been extended eastward to SH 161 (George Bush Turnpike), connecting it to the interchangeable lane through Grand Prairie completed in 2016. This created a 30 kilometer long interchange from Arlington to Dallas.

Dallas Horseshoe Project

In October 2011, $798 million was allocated to rebuild the I-30 and I-35E in Downtown Dallas, the so-called Horsehoe Interchange. TxDot had originally named the project Project Pegasus, which had a larger scope, but could not find funding for. The original connections and nodes were no longer sufficient. This was because there is much more traffic than what it was originally built on, and interestingly, the traffic flows have changed. When this interchange was built between 1958 and 1962, a majority of motorists had a destination in downtown Dallas. Today, 80% of traffic is through and thus has no destination or origin in Downtown Dallas. As a result, the infrastructure is used differently than on which it is built. After opening, little was adapted to the highway. I-35E has 286,000 vehicles per day on site north of the interchange. 350,000 vehicles drive through the interchanges every day.

The plans were as follows;

• A new carriageway on the south side of I-30 for traffic heading east, so that the existing carriageway can be converted into a HOV interchange lane.
• A parallel system along the south side of downtown to I-45.
• Rebuilding the interchange so that traffic following I-30 or I-35 can stay in the same lane instead of switching.
• A parallel system along the west side of downtown on I-35E.
• rebuilding the existing bridges in connection with lifespan

The new bridges were designed by Calatrava. The project was carried out between April 2013 and mid-2017.

Widening east of Dallas

Until the 1990s, I-30 had 2×2 lanes east of the interchange with I-635. In the late 1990s, the highway was widened to 2×4 lanes between I-635 and Rockwall, as well as a short stretch to 2×3 lanes in Rockwall itself. The wider section then ended at SH 205 in Rockwall. Between 2008 and 2016, I-30 was further reconstructed between Rockwall and Royse City, replacing some overpasses and preparing for widening to 2×3 to 2×4 lanes.

Future

Fort Worth

It is planned to widen I-30 in western Fort Worth. The 7-kilometer section between I-820 and Camp Bowie Boulevard is to be widened from 2×3 to 2×4 lanes. The cost of this has been estimated at $550 million. Also, $81 million has been earmarked to widen the portion between Lincrest Drive and the interchange with I-820 west of Fort Worth to 2×3 lanes.

Arlington

The connection between I-30 and SH 360 in Arlington was not a full interchange, but a trumpet interchange connecting the frontage roads of SH 360, so traffic between the two highways always had to go through traffic lights. The Trumpet interchange dates back to when I-30 was a toll road, the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike. Plans to build a full stack of 8 direct connectors (flyovers) between I-30 and SH 360 were accelerated as of 2013, and a $223 million contract was awarded on November 19, 2015 to build the interchange and a small piece of from SH 360 south of the interchange to widen 2×4 lanes. Construction started on March 2, 2016 and should be completed by mid-2022.

Dallas Canyon

I-30 runs along the south side of downtown Dallas, the so-called ‘canyon’ between I-35E and I-45. This part currently has 2×3 lanes with entrances and exits both on the outside and in the central reservation. The route is only 2.5 kilometers long and is one of the 20 most traffic-prone routes in Texas. The proposal under the Dallas CityMAP project was to widen this section to 2×4 lanes and an extended alternating lane. The entrances and exits in the central reservation would then disappear and be replaced by continuous frontage roads. In 2019, however, there was talk of widening to 2×6 lanes. There may be several short shelters over I-30. The cost for this 2-kilometer stretch is estimated at $121 million.

I-30 East (Dallas)

Connecting to the Dallas Canyon, I-30 may widen east of I-45. This part currently runs largely above ground level on viaducts through industrial areas and on slopes in residential areas. This route currently has an alternating lane with a zipper barrier. In one of the scenarios there will be 2×4 lanes with a two-lane interchange lane, in another scenario there will be 2×5 lanes with a two-lane interchange lane. It is the wish to realize this below ground level. The cost is estimated at $2 billion. The part covered by CityMAP runs from I-45 to Dolphin Road. Further studies include both I-30 and US 80 into the eastern suburbs of Dallas.

In an alternative scenario, I-30 will be extensively rerouted to the south, from Ferguson Road to US 175 and I-45 well south of Downtown Dallas. This will require a major overhaul of existing and new infrastructure and will cost more than $2 billion. It would be approximately 9 miles of new I-30 from the interchange with I-35E to near Ferguson Road in eastern Dallas, with the rerouted I-30 following the Trinity River south, intersecting with CF Hawn Freeway (US 175) and possibly the demolition of I-45 south of downtown. It’s unclear how realistic this plan is, as the demolition of both I-30 and I-45 would lead to a new highway to match the current combined capacity of 18 lanes.

Dallas – Greenville

The suburbs east of Dallas are growing very fast, especially in Rockwall County, which grew from 15,000 inhabitants in 1980 to approximately 100,000 inhabitants in 2017. For much of this, I-30 is the only high-speed connection to destinations in and around Dallas. It is planned to widen I-30 through Rockwall County to 2×4 lanes between the President George Bush Turnpike and SH 205 in Rockwall and 2×3 lanes further to the Hunt County border. Frontage roads are also being built across Lake Ray Hubbard. The first phase of frontage roads between Bass Pro Drive and Dalrock Road is estimated to cost $120 million, making it believed to be the most expensive two-mile frontage road ever in Texas. On March 21, 2019, a FONSI was issued for this project.

Texarkana

It is planned to widen the 9-kilometer section through Texarkana to 2×3 lanes, between FM 989 at Nash and the Arkansas border. The cost is estimated at $61 million.

Toll

Tolls are payable on the TEXpress lanes of I-30 between Arlington and Dallas. There is a variable congestion charge. Carpoolers receive a 50% discount on the toll rates.

Traffic intensities

I-30 in Mesquite, east of Dallas.

The data below concerns intensities after the relevant exit.

Exit	Location	2007	2012	2016
1	Fort Worth	53,000	54,000	64,000
5	Fort Worth	94,000	104,000	103,000
15	Fort Worth	124,000	132,000	123,000
21	Fort Worth	140,000	146,000	143,000
30	Arlington	111,000	147,000	136,000
38	Dallas	138,000	150,000	135,000
44	Dallas	179,000	196,000	219,000
46	Dallas	205,000	184,000	165,000
52	Dallas	110,000	108,000	108,000
57	Mesquite	162,000	148,000	162,000
71	rock wall	69,000	104,000	116,000
79	Royse City	40,000	56,000	60,000
91	Greenville	38,000	37,000	47,000
124	Sulfur Springs	29,000	31,000	36,000
160	Mount Pleasant	18,900	26,000	35,000
198	New Boston	25,000	30,000	36,000
220	Arkansas state line	65,000	82,000	61,000

Lane Configuration

From	Unpleasant	Lanes	Comments
exit 0	exit 13	2×3	Fort Worth
exit 13	Exit 19	2×4	Fort Worth
Exit 19	exit 38	2×3	Arlington
exit 38	exit 43	4+1+4	alternating lane
exit 43	Exit 44	2×3	Dallas
Exit 44	exit 45	2×4	Dallas
exit 45	exit 46	2×3	Dallas
exit 46	exit 53	2×4	Dallas
exit 53	exit 56	2×3	Mesquite
exit 56	Exit 60	2×4	Garland
Exit 60	Exit 68	2×3	Garland
Exit 68	Exit 223	2×2