Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge in Denton County Reaches First Anniversary

August marked the one-year anniversary of the new Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge (LLTB) in southern Denton County.  The bridge opened Aug. 1, 2009 to much fanfare. The biggest event during the opening celebration was a Fun Run and Walk, which was preceded by a ceremony comprised of local and state officials. As part of the opening, NTTA employees delivered 3,300 pounds of non-perishable food during the Fun Run. In addition, the event, overall, brought in 6,000 pounds of food and raised $30,000 for three local charities.

A contractor now has been selected to provide landscaping on the west side of the bridge around the toll gantry. The landscaping work is scheduled for late August through September. NTTA staff is also finalizing plans for a sand stockpile to be located near the bridge to be used during snow/ice events. The current schedule anticipates construction beginning in late 2010. In the interim, the NTTA Maintenance Department will continue to use a stockpile located in the City of Lewisville, if needed.

The Texas Chapter of the American Public Works Association recently recognized the Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge as the 2010 Public Works Project of the Year Transportation Project Greater than $100 million. At the awards ceremony, the NTTA was recognized along with the bridge designer, construction manager, contractor and corridor manager.

The LLTB connects the City of Lake Dallas on the west with the communities of Little Elm and Lakewood Village to the east.  The NTTA continues to work cooperatively with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Denton County and the cities of Little Elm, Frisco and Lake Dallas to complete the 13.8-mile LLTB corridor, which includes the 1.7-mile toll bridge, creating an east-west connection between Interstate 35E and the Dallas North Tollway.  TxDOT recently opened bids to construct the last section of the corridor (FM 720 in the Town of Little Elm), and the entire corridor is anticipated to open to its full capacity in 2013.