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SRT/DNT Interchange: Open for Business  All Eight Ramps Open Ahead of Schedule
All eight of the ramps connecting the Sam Rayburn Tollway and the Dallas North Tollway are now open at the busy interchange in Frisco and Plano, fully joining the two major toll roads and providing motorists with direct access from one toll road to the other.
“The NTTA strives to deliver projects as swiftly as possible, and we are very proud that we opened all of the ramps less than two years after starting construction on this important interchange,” said Elizabeth Mow, the NTTA’s interim assistant executive director of project delivery. “We sincerely thank the area businesses, residents and NTTA customers for their patience during our work.”
The NTTA opened the first four connectors on Oct. 31, providing all of the interchange’s links from the SRT to the DNT. Two additional ramps opened Nov. 12, providing motorists on northbound DNT with direct access to the SRT. Two days later, southbound DNT motorists were able to directly access the northeast-bound and southwest-bound SRT main lanes. With the last ramp openings, the NTTA opened all eight major ramps at the interchange ahead of schedule.
The ramps take traffic off of the frontage roads and local streets, improving travel time and connectivity in the area. “We expect drivers to save a significant amount of time by using the new direct-connecting ramps from the DNT to both directions of the SRT,” Mow said.
As an added convenience, one of the new ramps leading to the DNT includes a connection from the southwest-bound SRT frontage road (SH 121) just west of Preston Road. This means frontage road drivers near Preston Road and the Stonebriar Centre in Frisco will be able to directly access the north- or southbound DNT main lanes via the ramp connector, bypassing traffic lights at the intersection of SRT and DNT.
Crews will continue working to complete remaining tasks. Related construction is expected to continue into 2012. In the meantime, crews will continue to close DNT and SRT main lanes and frontage roads to finish critical tasks. Lane and ramp closures will continue as needed on weeknights, during off-peak daytime hours and during the weekends whenever possible. For a listing of lane and ramp closures, see the “daily general lane closures” listing at www.NTTA.org or call (214) 224-3030.
BY THE NUMBERS:
- The SRT/DNT interchange is approximately 105 feet tall from the lowest roadway surface to its highest bridge
- The five-level interchange was designed to be as compact as possible so it would not become a prominent feature above the horizon
- The interchange is about as tall as a seven-story building; by comparison, the High Five in Dallas is about as tall as a 12-story building
- More than 18 million pounds of steel bridge beams were set – an amount equal to approximately 10,000 cars (and weighing more than the steel in the Eiffel Tower)
- Approximately 30,000 linear feet of steel beams were set, equating to approximately 5.7 miles (a length that would wrap around the nearby IKEA building more than 15 times)
- More than 69 million pounds of concrete beams were set – an amount equal to the weight of approximately 3,047 school buses
- Approximately 84,400 linear feet of concrete beams were placed, equating to approximately 15.9 miles
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