Crews Begin Southwest Parkway Construction Activities

Motorists in Fort Worth have begun to see signs of progress on Southwest Parkway. Construction activities began last month and will be ongoing until April 2011.

Southwest Parkway is an 8.7-mile limited-access toll road that stretches from Interstate Highway 30 (I-30) to Altamesa Boulevard.  In October 2008, Southwest Parkway was combined with a six-mile extension of the corridor being developed by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the 13-mile Chisholm Trail, also being developed by TxDOT.  The combined project is 28 miles long and extends south from I-30 in Fort Worth to U.S. 67 in Johnson County.

As part of the construction activities, NTTA crews have closed the north and southbound inside (left) lanes of Hulen Street from Stonegate Boulevard to Hulen Place to remove concrete medians and allow installation of temporary pavement. Afterward, traffic on northbound Hulen Street will be diverted onto the western half of the Hulen Street bridge.

This will create one lane of traffic in each direction on the western half of the Hulen Street bridge across the Union Pacific Railroad’s (UPRR) Davidson Yard.

Crews also closed the right traffic lane on eastbound West Vickery Boulevard immediately west of Hulen Street to allow for construction to the south at the UPRR’s Davidson Yard, as well as both the Rosedale Street connector entrance and exit to I-30 to allow for bridge demolition and reconstruction. Afterward, drivers will no longer be able to make a direct connection to Forest Park Boulevard off West Vickery Boulevard. All eastbound traffic on West Vickery Boulevard will be redirected onto West Rosedale Street via southbound University Drive or onto eastbound I-30 under the Rosedale Street connector ramps. In addition, the right lane of eastbound I-30 will be turned into an exit only lane for University Drive. From eastbound I-30, the Montgomery Street exit (11), University Drive exit (12A), Forest Park Boulevard exit (12C), and Summit Avenue exit (13B) will all provide alternate routes to the Hospital District and points southeast of I-30 and the Trinity River.

Motorists should plan ahead and seek alternative routes as delays are possible.

This work is expected to cost approximately $22 million. It will be funded through the NTTA’s Feasibility Study Fund but will be reimbursed if the NTTA is not the ultimate developer of the roadway.

Those interested in receiving construction updates can become a fan of the NTTA’s Facebook page or visit www.ntta.org/AboutUs/Projects/ to sign up for the Southwest Parkway/Chisholm Trail corridor progress reports.