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NTTA Waives First Option on I-35E Expansion Project  The NTTA formally waived its first option to develop, finance, construct and operate managed lanes proposed for Interstate 35E as granted by Senate Bill 19 passed by the 82nd Texas Legislature, making way for the Texas Department of Transportation to pursue development alternatives for expanding the road.
Board members voted unanimously Sept. 19 not to exercise the NTTA’s options on the managed lane project. “The project is not financially feasible and would require support of some type to get it done,” explained NTTA Chief Financial Officer Janice Davis. The NTTA will continue, however, to work with TxDOT and I-35E corridor partners on moving this critical project for the region forward.
In June, the North Texas regional leadership, composed of the Regional Transportation Council, Denton County, Dallas County and the cities along the project corridor, asked the NTTA to help identify and evaluate strategies that would expedite the development of the project in ways that ensure local oversight and that best serve the citizens of North Texas. The NTTA worked closely with regional leadership through numerous coordinating sessions as it considered various development plans for the I-35E project.
After considering the updated feasibility analysis, the NTTA supported the regional leadership team’s recommendation to continue with TxDOT’s development of the I-35E project utilizing alternative development options.
Although the NTTA initially waived its options on the I-35E project in 2008, the Authority chose to reconsider the project in June when a review of a TxDOT-issued Request for Information revealed that the scope and potential terms of the project appeared to have materially changed.
The I-35E project, which runs 29 miles from I-635 in Dallas to U.S. 380 in Denton, includes two tolled lanes in each direction along with up to three free frontage lanes and three free main lanes in each direction. The total current project cost is $3.2 billion according to NTTA estimates. Depending on the start of construction, the road developments would open in stages from 2018 through 2021. |