New Interstates in Texas and The Southwest (rating, area)

[case44]

Whoops -- didn't see you sneak in, Drover. Sorry.

[case44]

Hey, let's hear from some people elsewhere in the Southwest. Do you folks have an idea for an interstate-designated freeway that you'd like to see built in your region but don't currently have? Let's hear from you.

[pwumavs]

I have some ideas.

First of all, let me say that Texas does have too few interstates, though many of them should be auxiliary. I have no idea how places like Pine Bluff, Arkansas can have its own spur interstate...that's just one example of the many useless interstate highways in states to the east. Many of these minor auxiliary interstates are also built to lesser standards than Texas state highways turned into freeways.

People around the country identify with interstates as the king of the nation's road network, so Texas needs to rename a lot of its state and U.S. highways to interstate highways. When people from out of state look at a map, they need to know that the route they're taking from one place to the next can be trusted—how many people not from the Dallas-Fort Worth area would think of taking State Highway 183? It's a major freeway in the area, but only locals would know that. If it were upgraded to a name such as I-335, with a route from Downtown Dallas to Downtown Fort Worth, tourists and non-locals would be more apt to take the route.

Here's a map I made of an upgraded and revised Dallas-Fort Worth freeway network.



Key points:

1) Interstate 30 should be restored to its original name, Interstate 20, from its beginning west of Fort Worth to the fork at U.S. Highway 80 east of Downtown Dallas. That fork is where Interstate 30 should begin, on its route from Dallas to Little Rock.

2) The current Interstate 20, which passes through the southern suburbs, should be renamed Interstate 220, as it serves as a bypass of Dallas and Fort Worth.

3) U.S. 75 should be upgraded to Interstate 45 on its way to Tulsa.

4) State Highway 121 should be renamed Interstate 445 from its intersection with the current U.S. 75 (proposed Interstate 45) down to State Highway 360 just west of D/FW Airport. Interstate 445 should continue along State Highway 360's current route down to U.S. Highway 287 south of Mansfield (intersection south of the map boundaries) and then take U.S. Highway 287's route down to its terminus at Interstate 45. Interstate 445 will essentially serve as a semi-loop route for Dallas.

5) State Highway 183 should be upgraded to the spur Interstate 335, starting from Downtown Dallas and ending at its intersection with the current State Highway 121 (proposed Interstate 735) in Bedford.

6) State Highway 121 should be upgraded to the spur Interstate 735, starting from Downtown Fort Worth and ending at its intersection with the current State Highway 360 (proposed Interstate 445) just to the west of D/FW Airport.

7) The current U.S. Highway 287 should be renamed Interstate 32 from Amarillo in West Texas to its intersection with the current State Highway 360 (proposed Interstate 445) south of Mansfield.

8) The current President George Bush Turnpike, which follows the current State Highways 161 and 190, should be renamed as a new loop Interstate 835 around Dallas.

9) U.S. Highway 67 from Midlothian (south of the map boundary) to its end at Interstate 35E south of Downtown Dallas should be renamed spur Interstate 535.

10) Woodall Rogers Freeway, currently State Spur 366, should be renamed Interstate 135. It will serve as a spur route from Interstate 45 to Interstate 35E on the northern edge of Downtown Dallas.

11) The short State Spur 280 into Downtown Fort Worth should be renamed Interstate 935.

[Spade]

Are you saying that US 80 should be upgraded to Interstate status than? Because I-30 and I-20 do not meet up. Since you renamed it 220, than that is basically a loop that will somehow meet up with the main artery eventually. But where? Because by that proposal, you have to travel down 635 just to get back to 20 when you are in East Dallas. I do like that proposal though if you mean to upgrade US 80. A loop is essentially for you to escape the downtown area traffic and your proposed 220 does that.

[case44]

Originally Posted by pwumavs

Key points:

1) Interstate 30 should be restored to its original name, Interstate 20, from its beginning west of Fort Worth to the fork at U.S. Highway 80 east of Downtown Dallas. That fork is where Interstate 30 should begin, on its route from Dallas to Little Rock.

2) The current Interstate 20, which passes through the southern suburbs, should be renamed Interstate 220, as it serves as a bypass of Dallas and Fort Worth.

3) U.S. 75 should be upgraded to Interstate 45 on its way to Tulsa.

4) State Highway 121 should be renamed Interstate 445 from its intersection with the current U.S. 75 (proposed Interstate 45) down to State Highway 360 just west of D/FW Airport. Interstate 445 should continue along State Highway 360's current route down to U.S. Highway 287 south of Mansfield (intersection south of the map boundaries) and then take U.S. Highway 287's route down to its terminus at Interstate 45. Interstate 445 will essentially serve as a semi-loop route for Dallas.

5) State Highway 183 should be upgraded to the spur Interstate 335, starting from Downtown Dallas and ending at its intersection with the current State Highway 121 (proposed Interstate 735) in Bedford.

6) State Highway 121 should be upgraded to the spur Interstate 735, starting from Downtown Fort Worth and ending at its intersection with the current State Highway 360 (proposed Interstate 445) just to the west of D/FW Airport.

7) The current U.S. Highway 287 should be renamed Interstate 32 from Amarillo in West Texas to its intersection with the current State Highway 360 (proposed Interstate 445) south of Mansfield.

8) The current President George Bush Turnpike, which follows the current State Highways 161 and 190, should be renamed as a new loop Interstate 835 around Dallas.

9) U.S. Highway 67 from Midlothian (south of the map boundary) to its end at Interstate 35E south of Downtown Dallas should be renamed spur Interstate 535.

10) Woodall Rogers Freeway, currently State Spur 366, should be renamed Interstate 135. It will serve as a spur route from Interstate 45 to Interstate 35E on the northern edge of Downtown Dallas.

11) The short State Spur 280 into Downtown Fort Worth should be renamed Interstate 935.

Well, my friend, it's adventurous, to say the least. I doubt very seriously that a number of state highways and toll roads will be upgraded to interstate standards anytime soon (but, dang, that would be one wild dream! ). I-45 definitely should go north of its current terminus, but some work would have to be done north of McKinney to get the current U.S. 75 to interstate standards. The I-32 corridor northwest of Ft. Worth is what should stay in your plan, but I can't see it going southeast of FW, even though you could make a pretty good case for connecting with Midlothian, Waxahachie, and Ennis. But, as for the Metroplex and all it contains, it's all a bit much.

My main concern is still all of the areas in West and Central Texas. If you've read my opening post, I have some thoughts for you to really look at, and I hope you've had a chance to look at it deeply. If places in West Texas had a little more population, commerce, and traffic, we can certainly accomplish a lot.

[case44]

Inquiries and ideas have been submitted in two threads regarding expansion of D/FW's interstate network to include most of the area's highways. Slight problem, folks. Changing designations is not only going to cost money, there's also more to it, and please understand, it also has to become law. That's easier said than done if you want to see, for example, State Highway 183 become I-such-and-such. For that to happen in our lifetimes, we'd be best off not holding our breaths.

Now, for D/FW, I've already mentioned a scenario from Fort Worth to Amarillo. That one (proposed I-32) has been mentioned before in Roads And Bridges magazine, but there is no new news on it. Another idea should be the combination of Spur 408 and the western section of Loop 12 in Dallas and Irving, which could be upgraded to become I-235. Loop 12 would be seriously rebuilt, and only the reconstruction is in the plans. And then, the U.S. 75 to I-45 scenario which I've also highlighted. Other than those three, that's pretty much it for the D/FW area. The other freeways in the area should keep their current designations as given forth by the state and national governments; what they really need is to be rebuilt to today's quality once we get some money. U.S. 80 east of Dallas is in very poor condition.

Now, one poster mentioned I-16 moving west from Macon, Georgia. It's not going to happen, and certainly not this far west. For perspective, here's a good link for you from AARoads:

Future Interstates and Potential Interstate Corridors @ Interstate-Guide.com

Aside from I-69, which is taking so many years to get finalized so construction can begin in East and South Texas, our state only needs three completely new interstate-designated roadways and extensions of three more, plus two loops and two spurs. Realistically, that would be about it, and they're all over the state. I've mentioned them in my opening post on this thread, and you can refer to that so I won't belabor my point. What I did not mention were Amarillo's potential loop (I-640), a spur from Lamesa to Midland from an extension of I-27 (possibly called I-127), and the upgrade of a current spur road in Lubbock, which, ironically, is undergoing construction as we speak (present State Spur 327, which could become I-327 in the future).

So, again, these are ideas for high-speed travel to connect cities in Texas that aren't already connected.

[Spade]

By looking at that map again, it makes sense and I actually do believe that they should make the current interstate 20 a loop and rename it 220. Have interstate 30 terminate at the current where US 80 merges with the interstate.

[quicksand66]

I would like to see I-44 extended from wichita falls to san.angelo or even marfa/alpine area, but i could see texas going toll crazy on that one.The second option with I-44 is to run it down to McAllen by way of San Antonio.The reason I pick McAllen is that I-44 already runs in a crazy direction from OKC to Wichita Falls so why not Mc Allen.I have read rumors about the new toll system from east of s.a. to north of Austin and they might number that new corridor as I-37.I-44 would just replace the u.s.281 thru texas.The second thing i would do is renumber the current 1604 loop to I-444 or I-644 that is when the whole road is up to interstate standards.

[invol713]

Originally Posted by case44

Hey, let's hear from some people elsewhere in the Southwest. Do you folks have an idea for an interstate-designated freeway that you'd like to see built in your region but don't currently have? Let's hear from you.

I'm a little late to the party here, but here it goes (Asterisks for ones that have even a slight chance in hell of happening):

I-7
* Mettler, CA (I-5) to Sacramento, CA (I-5) along CA-99
North Sacramento, CA (I-5) to Red Bluff, CA (I-5) along CA-99 & CA-36
Weed, CA (I-5) to Rufus, OR (I-84) along US-97
*Rufus, OR (I-84) to Ritzville, WA (I-90) along I-84, I-82, & US-395

I-9
Santa Clarita, CA (I-5) to Reno, NV (I-80) along CA-14 & US-395
Reno, NV (I-80) to Redding, CA (I-5) along US-395, CA-36, & CA-44

I-11
*Gila Bend, AZ (I-8) to west of Phoenix, AZ (I-10) along AZ-85
*Phoenix, AZ (I-10) to Las Vegas, NV (I-15) along AZ-303, US-60, US-93, & I-515
Las Vegas, NV (I-15) to Fernley, NV (I-80) along US-95 & US-95A

I-13
Winnemucca, NV (I-80) to Boise City, ID (I-84) along I-80 & US-95

I-21
Green River, UT (I-70) to Spanish Fork, UT (I-15) along US-6 (this number could be I-470 instead to celebrate the Mormon's Pioneer Day [1847])

I-40 extension
*Buttonwillow, CA (I-5) to Barstow, CA (I-15/I-40) along CA-58

I-70
Sacramento, CA (I-80) to Fernley, NV (I-11) along US-50

I know that's a lot, so if I had to narrow it down to the one I'd most like to see, it would be I-11. But I live in Reno, so I'm a bit biased.

[Nivalis]

Since the Interstate system is limited by its numbering style, I think that we should start upgrading existing, high-priority corridors to freeway standards before worrying about whether or not those corridors should become Interstates. If a corridor doesn't become one, then it wouldn't matter since you'd be driving on a freeway regardless.