By the end of August, construction crews working on the renovation effort at the south end of the Dallas North Tollway (DNT), plan to open six main lanes of traffic, three in each direction, from just south of Lemmon Avenue all the way to the Interstate Highway (IH) 35E exit ramp.
A final traffic switch will be needed in July from Lemmon Avenue to between Wycliff Avenue and Maple Avenue. Meanwhile, work is continuing on the bridge over Maple Avenue. (See photo) Work will continue in the center median to build new all-electronic toll collection gantry columns and a center median barrier.
Further south, in late June or early July, crews will begin the construction of the southbound exit ramp to Oak Lawn from the Tollway. A northbound entrance ramp will also be built.
From Maple Ave. to IH-35 crews will begin the construction of a southbound exit ramp to Oak Lawn from the Tollway in early July. Construction on the southbound lanes will also continue until the end of August. A northbound Oak Lawn Avenue entrance ramp will also be built.
Crews are scheduled to place a new bridge slab over Oak Lawn Avenue the week of June 16.
Work is also progressing on Oak Lawn Avenue. It is expected that traffic will be able to travel on the new portion of Oak Lawn Avenue between Maple Avenue and IH 35E in late June. Then crews can begin work on the other portion of the roadway. The goal is to complete the work on Oak Lawn Avenue in August.
Work on a new gantry or bridge structure that holds electronic equipment over all lanes of traffic will also be constructed beginning in July and continuing through September. That electronic equipment collects information from electronic transponders or license plates. Tolls are charged via TollTag transponders at a lower rate or ZipCash, a payment method for customers without a TollTag. A temporary gantry is currently located just south of Lemmon Avenue.
The $50 million project on the oldest section of the Tollway was started in May 2006, and weather permitting, will be completed in August. After that time, crews will be working on items related to the roadway conversion to all-electronic toll collection that may result in minor traffic interruptions.