Eastern Extension Public Meeting
to be Held Oct. 8

As progress on the President George Bush Eastern Extension (PGBT EE) continues, residents and business owners in Garland, Sachse and Rowlett may have questions about how construction of the road will affect their travel routes and how the completed turnpike will interplay with crossroads such as State Highway (SH) 66 in Rowlett.

NTTA staff and consultants will provide information on the project’s status at a meeting at 7 p.m. on Oct. 8 in the City Council chambers at Rowlett City Hall, 4000 Main Street, in Rowlett. Staff will be available to answer questions from the attendees. 

The 9.9-mile Eastern Extension will lengthen the PGBT southeast from SH 78, over Lake Ray Hubbard, continuing to Interstate Highway (IH) 30. The NTTA is building four of the road’s five sections, and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is building the lake bridge section. Construction began in October 2008.

In some areas, the turnpike extension is designed to be elevated over existing roads: Merritt Road in Sachse and Rowlett, Miller Road in Rowlett and Zion Road in Garland.

In others, it will be built below grade, or lower than ground level, and pass underneath several existing roadways and railroad tracks: SH 78, Crist Road and Firewheel Parkway in Garland; Miles Road in Sachse; and SH 66, the DART rail line and Main Street in Rowlett.

The SH 78, Crist Road and Firewheel Parkway overpasses already exist. Crews are currently digging to make room for the main lanes to pass under these roads. The Miles Road overpass is almost halfway finished; two-way traffic is using one side of the road while half of the bridge is being built on the other side. Traffic will soon be routed to the new pavement to allow for the second half of the bridge construction.

At the intersection of SH 66 (or Lakeview Parkway) and Liberty Grove Road, preparations are being made to begin the SH 66 overpass construction. The turnpike and service roads will replace Liberty Grove north of SH 66 and Kirby Road south of the state highway. The turnpike configuration there includes six below-grade main lanes – three in each direction – and service roads that rise to ground level to provide access to local businesses and to intersect with east- and westbound SH 66 (see graphic).

SH 66, as it passes over the turnpike, will have three through lanes in each direction as well as turn-only and combination straight-or-turn lanes for accessing the service roads. The service roads will also have turn-only and straight-or-turn lanes for going east or west.

Implementing such a complex design in an already well-traveled area requires digging below the surface and building the overpass in phases.

In Phase 1, the traffic pattern for eastbound SH 66 currently remains unchanged. The westbound SH 66 traffic will also remain unchanged except for a few days when the right lane will be temporarily closed for the widening of the roadway in preparation for Phase 2.

In Phase 2, SH 66 will feature two lanes in each direction with exclusive left and right turn lanes at Liberty Grove. The third lane in each direction will be closed for construction. Phase 2 construction is expected to begin in October 2009 and continue through March 2010.

Phase 3 is scheduled for March 2010 through July 2010. During this phase, SH 66 is configured to have two lanes of traffic in each direction on the north side of the road while the south side of the bridge is under construction. Eastbound vehicles may turn left, or north, onto Liberty Grove Road. Westbound vehicles will not be able to turn left, or south, onto Kirby Road and instead will be detoured through Martin Drive, left on Industrial Street and then right onto the turnpike’s southbound frontage road.

Phase 4 is expected to begin in July 2010 and continue through January 2011. For this phase, the four east- and westbound lanes on SH 66 will be shifted to the completed south side of the bridge while the north portion of the bridge is constructed. Eastbound drivers will still be able to turn left, or north, onto Liberty Grove, and westbound drivers will continue to use the southerly detour through Martin Drive, left on Industrial Street and then right onto the turnpike’s southbound frontage road.

The Bush Turnpike/SH 66 intersection is anticipated to be complete and open by February 2011. The turnpike’s main lanes are expected to be open to traffic by the fourth quarter of 2011.