All native and adaptive native plants are being planted along new and some existing projects, including recent extensions of the Dallas North Tollway (DNT) and the President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT). The landscape elements are designed to thrive in the intense heat and low-water conditions of North Texas summers, making them environmentally friendly because they reduce long-term maintenance and irrigation demands.

 

Recent exampes of drought-tolerant plantings can be found on the DNT Phase 3 extension north of Gaylord Parkway in Frisco. Plans call for some of the turf to be maintained without irrigation, while other plants are maintained with only drip or bubbling irrigation. These steps reduce the NTTA’s ongoing maintenance demands. All landscape elements are scheduled for installation on the latest DNT extension by summer 2009.

 

Another example of environmentally friendly landscape elements can be found on the PGBT between LBJ Freeway and Interstate Highway 35E, where native and adaptive plant materials have been in place for approximately a year. In addition, some of the Bush Turnpike landscape irrigation systems feature rain and freeze sensors, flow meters to detect line breaks and evaporation sensors that collect data to determine plan irrigation requirements. 

 

The trees and other plants used on the NTTA system can be found at many nurseries and are well-suited to residential and commercial landscape designs. Some of the featured trees are Shumard oak, bigtooth maple, eastern red cedar, blue point juniper, Mexican plum, red bud and desert willow. Shrubs, grasses and turf elements scheduled for planting include silver cloud sage, green cloud sage, Miscanthus, red yucca, salvia, Bermuda grass and weeping love grass.