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NTTA Dedicates Sam Rayburn Tollway The NTTA will formally dedicate the Sam Rayburn Tollway during a ceremony at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 5.
The NTTA Board of Directors approved the new name on March 16, 2009, after months of deliberation and input from the communities along corridor as well as the general public.
The June 5 ceremony also will celebrate 54 years of distinguished public service by the roadway’s namesake – Samuel “Sam” Taliaferro Rayburn. “Mr. Sam,” as the iconic Texan was affectionately known, served in elected office for 54 consecutive years.
Rayburn represented the Fourth Congressional District, a 16-county area that once included Collin, Grayson, Rockwall and Fannin counties. He remains the longest-serving speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rayburn helped bring electricity to rural parts of this region, farm-to-market roads, multiple federal projects and economic development opportunities to this region. He was known for his integrity, patriotism, fairness and his love of North Texas.
The ceremony will be held on the Exchange Parkway just off the northbound service road in the city of Allen, where a commemorative plaque will be built into the project. Speakers include NTTA Board Chairman Paul N. Wageman and Sam Rayburn Foundation Chairman Dee J. Kelly.
The Sam Rayburn Tollway remains under construction by the NTTA. The first two segments of its 26-mile stretch in Dallas, Denton and Collin counties are open to traffic and feature all-electronic toll collection.
The remaining segments are opening in phases, with the tollway expected to fully open to traffic by January 2012.
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