Commuters, get ready to find a scenic route to work.
A $37 million overhaul of the US 75 interchange at President George Bush Turnpike launches Monday, May 16 to restructure the ramps and merges that connect these two highways. The project in total will span 1.3 miles, taking more than two and a half years to complete and ultimately, is expected to clear congestion when transitioning between US 75 and the Bush Turnpike.
Zachry Construction Corp., a San Antonio-based company, which in 2002 gave us the High Five, will be working hard on this area, the connection between two of DFW’s powerhouse highways.
“Working together with our partners from the City of Plano, City of Richardson, DART and NTTA, we are confident that this project will ease the congestion in that area,” said Kelly Selman, chief TxDOT engineer of the Dallas District on a txdot.gov announcement. “It will ultimately cut down on the need for motorists to navigate tight merges to enter and exit US 75.”
Over the course of the construction, the roadways here are going to drastically change. There is a planned extension of the railroad bridge just north of the Bush Turnpike, constructing new auxiliary lanes and rebuilding the Plano Parkway bridge spanning US 75. The retaining walls along US 75, near Plano Parkway will be pushed back, allowing for construction of additional lanes to improve traffic flow between US 75 and the Bush Turnpike and along northbound US 75, the additional lanes will allow for the existing traffic to navigate onto 15th Street without crossing traffic that is entering US 75 from the Bush Turnpike.
After the project is complete, travelers heading north on US 75 will access 15th street using the Plano Parkway exit, farther south. The elimination of this exit, making it entry-only onto US 75, will greatly reduce the multitude of vehicles attempting to safely enter US 75 from the Bush Turnpike while others are trying to exit onto 15th.
Southbound, the ramp from 15th Street will be moved farther north and a new braided ramp will allow traffic to enter and exit US 75 without having to merge with each other. With the braided ramp, the southbound US 75 exit to Plano Parkway will weave under the southbound US 75 on-ramp.
Monday’s construction will begin along the southbound frontage road between 15th Street and Plano Parkway.
Find out more at TxDOT.gov.
