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Sam Rayburn Tollway/U.S. 75 Improves Traffic Flow Construction of the Sam Rayburn Tollway/U.S. 75 interchange in the heart of Collin County is in the home stretch, as mere weeks of work remain on the $212 million mobility project.
The NTTA opened the fifth major direct-connecting ramp March 13, giving motorists in east McKinney direct access to Allen and other destinations off U.S. 75 (Central Expressway). The new ramp carries traffic from southwest-bound SRT directly to southbound U.S. 75. On the same day, the NTTA also opened the new SRT main lanes over Medical Center Drive all the way to State Highway 5, the easternmost limits of the project.
These openings have further improved the flow of traffic through the busy Allen, McKinney and Fairview area. And, the compressed construction schedule – barely 2½ years – meant that the NTTA delivered the interchange as quickly as possible to lessen the impact on area motorists and businesses and to help quickly drive additional economic development in Collin County.
“We have accomplished a lot in just 2½ years,” said Elizabeth Mow, NTTA director of project delivery. “The NTTA is very proud of this project and excited that it has been delivered so swiftly. We believe this interchange is a symbol of the NTTA’s continuing commitment to improve mobility throughout our region – and to deliver much-needed transportation solutions in the most rapid way possible.”
The final direct-connecting ramp will carry motorists from northbound U.S. 75 to northeast-bound SRT, and it is expected to open to traffic by the end of March, weather permitting. With graceful, sweeping curves, the six direct-connect bridges link SRT and U.S. 75 to provide nonstop access between both major roadways.
The contractor is expected to finish paving the reconstructed southbound U.S. 75 main lanes near the interchange in the near future, and traffic will be returned to its correct configuration after that. Currently, both directions of traffic are shifted onto the northbound side of U.S. 75 while crews complete the southbound U.S. 75 paving.
Sections of the massive interchange continued to open during the past several weeks. All four of the loop ramps are open to traffic – providing drivers with added convenience and easy access to all frontage roads at the interchange and allowing motorists to travel between SRT and U.S. 75 frontage roads without stopping at any traffic lights.
By the Numbers: SRT/U.S. 75 Interchange
- Tallest point: 80 feet – nearly six stories tall
- Amount of concrete: approximately 5 million cubic feet, enough to build a typical neighborhood sidewalk stretching 450 miles from Dallas to New Orleans
- Longest continuous bridge: 4,800 feet, the length of approximately 16 football fields
- Concrete barriers and rail: approximately 36 miles of concrete traffic barrier and bridge rail, enough to stretch from McKinney to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
- Number of concrete beams: about 24 miles’ worth of concrete beams, which would stretch from Allen to downtown Dallas
- Approximately 270,000 square feet of retaining walls: an amount comparable to 2,100 two-car garages
- Dirt used as fill material: approximately 1.3 million cubic yards, an amount that would fill 130,000 dump trucks. Lined up end to end, the dump trucks would form a 620-mile line from Dallas to St. Louis
- Sod placed: an amount equal to 75 football fields or one 18-hole golf course
- Number of daily vehicles: projected at 220,000
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