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2008 Year in Review: NTTA Achieves Many Milestones With 2008 nearing a close, the NTTA is celebrating the goals it reached during the last 365 days as it worked to improve mobility throughout North Texas and continue providing safe roadways for its customers.
Looking back, here are just some of the NTTA’s actions in 2008:
January:
The NTTA marked the one-year anniversary of ZipCash at the Wycliff Avenue toll plaza on the Dallas North Tollway. ZipCash is the NTTA’s cashless “drive now, pay later” system in which drivers are billed for their tolls.
February:
NTTA representatives and regional dignitaries turned dirt on the 121 Tollway, signifying the official beginning of the NTTA’s involvement in constructing the remaining segments of the 121 Tollway in Collin, Dallas and Denton counties.
March:
The NTTA celebrated the formation of its Roadway Customer Service Program, an initiative to help keep NTTA customers safe and traffic flowing smoothly. The pilot program involves employees who patrol the 121 Tollway 24 hours a day, seven days a week to assist customers and emergency responders.
April:
The NTTA received an “Excellence in Snow and Ice Control” award from the American Public Works Association for its superior response to icy conditions. North Texas motorists can rest assured that when icy weather occurs, the NTTA will respond in an efficient, effective way to ensure all NTTA roadways remain safe.
May:
The NTTA Board of Directors approved a new design for route markers – called trailblazers – during its May 2008 meeting. The signs will replace the individual logo signs on current and future NTTA toll roads to create a consistent NTTA System identity; clearly notify customers that they are entering and traveling on a toll road; and help motorists identify their location if they need assistance.
June:
The NTTA announced that its TollTags were receiving a sleek makeover. The makeover transformed the TollTag from a hard plastic case into a slim, adhesive sticker (similar to a vehicle registration sticker). The new TollTag offers all the benefits of the existing TollTag: It saves money at toll plazas, operates on toll roads throughout the state, and lets customers access parking at D/FW International and Dallas Love Field airports.
July:
The NTTA announced that it had recently received two awards for building a new portion of a toll road and improving another section of that same toll road. The Texas Chapter of the American Public Works Association honored the NTTA for the newest extension of the DNT by presenting it with a “Public Works Project of the Year” award. The NTTA also received the National Asphalt Pavers Association’s “Quality in Construction” award for the repair work the NTTA performed in 2007 on the southern portion of the DNT.
August:
The NTTA celebrated the start of construction on the President George Bush Turnpike Eastern Extension during groundbreaking festivities. NTTA representatives were joined at the ceremony by local, regional and state dignitaries.
September:
The 121 Tollway, formerly known as State Highway (SH) 121, officially joined the NTTA System on Sept. 1, 2008, for the next 50 years. With the new segment open, the 121 Tollway is 16.7 miles long. The road will temporarily be called the 121 Tollway until a new name is selected by the NTTA Board of Directors.
October:
Working together, TxDOT and the NTTA agreed to a partnership that advances three critical mobility projects – SH 161, Southwest Parkway (SWP) and Chisholm Trail. The NTTA also exercised its right to develop SH 161. To support the delivery of the Southwest Parkway and Chisholm Trail, the NTTA and TxDOT agreed to combine the two project and to waive market valuation for the Chisholm Trail projects.
Also in October 2008, the NTTA Board of Directors awarded its largest single contract to date – almost $220 million – for Segment 4 of the 121 Tollway, which includes the four-level 121 Tollway/U.S. 75 interchange in Collin County. The interchange is expected to open in January 2011.
November:
The NTTA, City of Fort Worth and Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) reached an agreement to design, construct and test a special railroad track system called a temporary hump lead. The hump lead is a crucial temporary detour of the main yard track to allow construction of the SWP and Hulen Street bridges to proceed over UPRR Davidson Yard with minimal disruption to the yard’s operation.
The NTTA is on schedule for the planned conversion of its System to all-electronic toll collection (all-ETC) that starts next year. The NTTA Board approved the $92.6 million conversion to all-ETC in August 2007. The project is expected to not only improve safety and traffic flow for NTTA customers, but also result in a cost savings for the authority.
Also in November 2008, the Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge reached 75 percent completion.
December:
The NTTA celebrated the final completion of the $50 million renovation of the oldest section of the DNT. The project began in May 2006 and was completed in stages. One of the most anticipated occurrences was the November 2008 opening of the new entrance and exit ramps on the DNT at Oak Lawn Avenue, which improved mobility and provided added convenience to that area. The renovation of the DNT’s 40-year-old original section included multiple enhancements:
- replacing the Wycliff Avenue main lane plaza with a new all-electronic toll gantry;
- replacing the entire Cedar Springs bridge;
- replacing the center median barrier;
- removing the raised shoulder on the Wycliff and Maple Avenue bridges;
- overlaying and re-striping the main lanes;
- widening Oak Lawn Avenue; and
- adding the new ramps at Oak Lawn Avenue.
As history books close on 2008, the NTTA looks forward to 2009 and another year of providing mobility solutions to the region’s growing population.
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