Electronic Toll Collection Construction Begins Soon on the Dallas North Tollway

Construction and demolition activities to convert the NTTA’s three remaining roads to all-electronic toll collection (all-ETC) are scheduled to get underway in late May/early June beginning with the Dallas North Tollway (DNT).

The first of several contracts for the conversion was awarded on April 21, 2010. In all, the NTTA Board of Directors awarded three key contracts affecting the all-electronic toll collection conversion of the DNT. The contracts included advance steel procurement, construction management services and the construction contract for two main lane gantries, as well as ramp gantries between Interstate Highway 635 (I- 635) and the President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT).

All-ETC provides enhanced mobility, safety and air quality. The actual conversion, which will also occur on the Mountain Creek Lake Bridge (MCLB) in the third quarter of 2010 and the Addison Airport Toll Tunnel (AATT) in the fourth quarter of 2010, will take 12-14 months with varying levels of construction activity and will be complete in 2011. When possible, lane closures will be limited to non-peak hours to minimize inconvenience to the traveling public.

“We are committed to making every effort to minimize delays caused by construction,” said NTTA Assistant Executive Director of Operations Clayton Howe. “We’d also like to thank our customers in advance for their patience as we work to advance mobility in North Texas.”

NTTA will communicate conversion activity and construction lane closures to the public on www.ntta.org/AboutUs/Projects/AllETC, through the news media and via its Facebook page. Additionally, customers can e-mail all-etc@ntta.org to receive a weekly list of lane closures.

Due to the constrained right of way, construction related to the conversion of the DNT will be segmented into four parts: the Keller Springs and Parker Road main lane gantries and the ramp plazas between I-635 and the President George Bush Turnpike will be the first to undergo construction activities. Construction on the ramp plazas between Mockingbird Lane and I-635, and all main lane and ramp gantries between the Sam Rayburn Tollway and U.S. 380, will begin later this year. All-ETC will commence in the fourth quarter of 2010, and all roadway construction activities will be complete by the first quarter of 2011. Additional construction will take place during the first half of 2011 to complete the demolition of the old plaza structures.

After the conversion, cash will no longer be accepted on the NTTA System and tolls must be paid with a TollTag account or through the NTTA’s ZipCash program. Customers who use ZipCash—the NTTA's cashless toll collection method—pay 50 percent more than customers who have TollTags. TollTags also can be used on any toll road in Texas. Customers whose accounts are backed with a credit or debit card can also use their TollTags for parking and pass-through privileges at D/FW International Airport and for all parking at Dallas Love Field Airport. Customers can have up to three TollTags, a “family pack,” on one account at no additional charge. TollTag accounts also can be managed online 24/7 at https://csc.ntta.org/olcsc/ where customers can print out receipts for expense reports, update account information and much more.

For additional information about the conversion to all-ETC, visit www.ntta.org/AboutUs/Projects/AllETC.