Length 155.7 km | ||
 | ||
South end: I-35 / I-35W / US 77 in Hillsboro North end: I-35 / I-35W / US 77 in Denton Counties Hill County, Texas, Ellis County, Texas, Dallas County, Texas, Denton County, Texas | ||
Interstate 35E (I-35E), an Interstate Highway, is the eastern half of I-35 where it splits to serve the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. I-35 splits into two branch routes, I-35W and I-35E at Hillsboro. I-35E travels northward for 97 miles (156 km), maintaining I-35's sequence of exit numbers. It travels through Dallas before rejoining with I-35W to reform I-35 in Denton. This is one of two points where I-35 splits into suffixed pairs of Interstate highways to service a metropolitan area, doing the same thing in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.
Contents
- Map of I 35E Texas USA
- US Highway 67
- US Highway 77
- From the DallasEllis county line to Denton
- History
- Future
- Auxiliary routes
- References
Map of I-35E, Texas, USA
Historically, other interstates were given directional suffixes. On every other interstate, the directional suffixes were phased out by giving the route a loop or spur designation (such as I-270 in Maryland, which was once I-70S), or in some cases were assigned a different route number (such as I-76, which was once I-80S). In the case of I-35, since both branches return to a unified interstate beyond the twin cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, the AASHTO committees allowed the suffixes to remain.
U.S. Highway 67
Interstate 35E travels concurrently with U.S. Route 67 (US 67) from just north of Kiest Boulevard in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas to the I-30 interchange in downtown Dallas. From there, US 67 joins with I-30. On both segments, US 67 is signed.
U.S. Highway 77
From Waco, Texas to El Dorado, Kansas, I-35 (or I-35E) typically runs concurrent with, or lies fairly close to, US 77. This highway travels parallel to I-35E after splitting off of I-35 north of Hillsboro, running through Italy and Milford. It joins with I-35E for less than 1 mile (1.6 km) just south of Waxahachie, before splitting back off to run through Waxahachie. It rejoins the interstate just north of a junction with State Highway 342 in Red Oak. US 77 stays with the interstate through Dallas and up to the southeastern section of Denton. It then breaks off, rejoining I-35 north of the city. Except for the spur sections (Denton and the section between Red Oak and Hillsboro), US 77 is unsigned.
From the Dallas–Ellis county line to Denton
From the Dallas–Ellis County line to downtown Dallas, I-35E is called South R.L. Thornton Freeway and varies from eight to ten lanes plus HOV. The section from I-20 to Downtown Dallas will be undergoing a major reconstruction by 2015 to 12 lanes. Reconstruction of I-35E and the downtown Mixmaster interchange with I-30 is planned as part of the Horseshoe project, derived from the larger Pegasus Project. From this point, I-35E is named the Stemmons Freeway to Lewisville. This section will undergo reconstruction in three phases. The first, a widening of I-35E from I-635 to Denton, will start in late 2011 to over 16 lanes. The second, the LBJ Project, will include elevated toll I-35E lanes by 2016. Last is the major reconstruction of Stemmons Freeway (I-35E) from downtown Dallas to I-635 to over 20 lanes by 2020.
History
Interstate 35E replaced most of US 77 between Hillsboro and Denton. US 77 is unsigned along the route, with the exception of the highway that runs through Waxahachie–Red Oak and Denton. I-35E was completed in the early 60s.
When first designated, I-35W & I-35E were the only "suffixed" highways in Texas. Subsequently, I-69W, I-69E, and I-69C have been designated.
Future
As of 2013, a major construction project is underway on I-35E from I-635 to US 380. The main focus is to ease traffic flow along the corridor, which is heavily congested, especially near Lewisville Lake. The project includes extending the HOV lanes further north from the Sam Rayburn Tollway/SH 121 interchange. Part of this project included the pedestrian bridge from the main campus of the University of North Texas to Apogee Stadium, which opened in October 2012. The project is slated to be complete by May 2017.
The Horseshoe Project is also underway, which will replace the outdated "Canyon" interchange with I-30 and build a new bridge over the Trinity River. The project is expected to be completed in late-2016 to early-2017.
I-35E is also part of the LBJ Express. The section of freeway from Loop 12 to Valwood Parkway is being rebuilt as the old interchange with I-635 is being replaced.