President George Bush Turnpike

President George Bush Turnpike
Route information
Maintained by : NTTA (mainlanes) TXDOT (frontage roads)
Length:	52 mi (84 km)
Existed:	1977 – present
Major junctions
CCW end:	I-20 in Grand Prairie
	I-30 in Grand Prairie I-635 in Irving I-35E in Carrollton US 75 in Richardson SH 78 in Garland SH 66 in Rowlett
CW end:	I-30 in Garland
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Loops Spurs Rec FM Toll ← SH 160 SH 162 → ← SH 189 SH 191 →

The President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT) is a 52-mile (84 km)toll road running through the northern, northeastern and western suburbs, forming a partial loop around Dallas, Texas, United States. It is named for George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States. At its west end near Belt Line Road in Irving, State Highway 161 (SH 161) continues southwest to Interstate 20 in Grand Prairie. The discontinuous free frontage roads along the Turnpike from Interstate 35E in Carrollton east to its end at Interstate 30 in Garland are assigned the State Highway 190 (SH 190) designation. "190 TEXAS" signage appears only along the Garland, Richardson, Plano, and Carrollton sections of the frontage road with the undersign "frontage road only." At intersections with city streets, only the Bush Turnpike signs are displayed, not the "190 TEXAS" signage. Prior to the construction of the main lanes as a tollway, SH 190 was used as the name of the planned main lanes too. Similarly, the part west of I-35E was planned as part of SH 161. Bush Turnpike is signed as an east–west road east of I-35E and as a north–south road west (i.e., south) of I-35E, as Bush Turnpike makes a nearly 90-degree curve immediately west of its I-35E interchange.

The turnpike is operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA). Currently, all maintenance is done under a five-year Total Routine Maintenance (TRM) contract with Infrastructure Corporation of America (ICA) based in Brentwood, Tennessee that started in November 2006.

The turnpike passes through three Texas counties (Dallas, Collin and Denton) and nine Dallas suburbs (Rowlett, Sachse, Garland, Richardson, Plano, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Irving and Grand Prairie).

Originally PGBT was equipped with traditional toll plazas for cash payment as well as RFID-based TollTag express lanes. However on July 1, 2009 the cash plazas were closed and replaced with "ZipCash", an OCR-based camera system which reads the license plate and bills the owner by mail. This made the turnpike the first in the United States to transition to all-electronic toll collection. The ZipCash rates, however, come at a premium being significantly higher than both the TollTag rate and the earlier cash prices.

It should be noted that SH 190 was formerly a route proposed in 1933 from Cuero southwestward to SH 119. That route was transferred to SH 29 by 1936.

A turnoff to the George Bush Turnpike in Irving, Texas from SH 183

Approach to toll plazas in north Dallas, 22 April 2008, before the plaza closures in 2009.

History

The corridor of SH 161 and the Turnpike was first proposed as an outer loop within Dallas County in 1957. The 1964 plan was the first to designate it as a freeway, and in 1969 the full loop was added to the state highway system as Loop 9. The loop would begin at Interstate 20 just east of the Tarrant County line and head north (along a corridor still planned as an extension of SH 161). From State Highway 183 it would run roughly along present SH 161, turning north on Belt Line Road and east just south of the Denton County line, crossing Interstate 35E near the present junction. Rather than cross into Denton and Tarrant Counties, the loop would stay in Dallas County, running roughly where Campbell Road is now. It would rejoin the present Turnpike alignment and head southeast to Interstate 30 west of Lake Ray Hubbard. The south part of the loop would continue in a roughly circular route to end at the junction of Interstate 20 and Spur 408, several miles east of the beginning of the loop. The short Spur 484, designated in 1970, would run from Loop 9 at Belt Line Road northeast along the present Turnpike alignment to Interstate 635.

Some of the opposition to the loop came from the city of Richardson, which was already divided by the Central Expressway. In conjunction with Plano, the city acquired empty right-of-way about two miles (3 km) to the north, where the Turnpike now runs, and set the centerline of the right-of-way to the border between Richardson and Plano.

Loop 9 was cancelled in 1977, and the western and northern section was split between two new designations: State Highway 161 from Interstate 20 to State Highway 114 (at Belt Line Road) and State Highway 190 from Interstate 35E to State Highway 78. (The piece between SH 114 and IH 35E was removed from the state highway system.) Spur 484 was absorbed into SH 161 in 1979, making its northern terminus Interstate 635 (at Valley View Lane). The connection between I-635 and I-35E was added to SH 161 in 1988.

Construction on service roads began in late 1988 in north Garland and Richardson. A stack interchange was constructed in 1990 at U.S. Highway 75 in Richardson, which quickly became a white elephant as the structure remained abandoned for several years. In 1995 following a revision in federal laws, authorities agreed to shift to a toll financing scheme, providing an infusion of cash and new construction. The SH 190 designation was removed from the plans for the not-yet-constructed main lanes in 1996, and in 1998 SH 161 was removed from the piece between Belt Line Road and I-635 (Segment V).

Incidents and accidents

On April 11, 2013, at least two people were killed and more than three dozen were hospitalized after a charter bus careened off the road and flipped onto its side. The Cardinal Coach Line charter from Mansfield, Texas, was on its way to a casino in Oklahoma. The wreck occurred just east of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Description

Since the initial construction began in 1988, the turnpike was completed in a number of phases, as described here:

Segment I (North Dallas). Extends from Campbell Road to Midway Road, and includes the Dallas North Tollway and U.S. Highway 75 (Central Expressway) interchanges. Opened in December 1998 (Midway Road to Preston Road) and December 1999 (Preston Road to Campbell Road).

Segment II (Garland/Richardson). Extends from Campbell Road to State Highway 78. Opened in 2000.

Segment III (Carrollton). Extends from Midway Road in north Dallas to Interstate 35E. Opened July 2001.

Segment IV ("PGBT Superconnector"). Connects I-35E to the I-635 airport extension. It covers 5.2 miles (8.4 km) and was built at the cost of $339 million. Much of the expense is because the segment is built within the Trinity River wetland and comprises many miles of bridges. Construction began in January 2003 and was completed in October 2005.

Segment V (Irving). A 3.9-mile (6.3 km) segment connecting the I-635 airport extension to the SH 161 freeway near Belt Line Road. It opened in December 2001. Unstable clay soil was a significant problem in this segment, requiring contractors to use concentrated liquid stabilizers and geosynthetic reinforcement.

Segment VI (Irving/Grand Prairie) Extends from SH-183 to I-30 in Grand Prairie. Opened in late 2009.

Segment VII (Grand Prairie) Goes from I-30 in Grand Prairie to I-20. Opened in late 2010.

Segment VIII ("Eastern Extension") Extends from SH-78 in Garland, through Rowlett and Sachse and back into Garland at I-30. The project, with a price tag of $1.04 billion, included construction of a 1-mile bridge at Lake Ray Hubbard. The NTTA received environmental clearance in 2005 and construction began in October 2008. The highway opened to traffic on December 21, 2011 and on-time as proposed in the original bid. Cosmetic work will be ongoing into early 2012.

Segment IX ("East Branch"). Extends from I-30 in Garland to I-20 in Mesquite and includes the US-80 interchange. The project is in the planning stages, with an Environmental Impact Statement in preparation as of January 2012.

Expansion plans

Current eastern terminus at I-30 in Garland.

The next PGBT segment, the East Branch extension, is planned to begin at the PGBT Lake Ray Hubbard Interchange at I-30, extending south-southeast to near Duck Creek Way, then southward near Mesquite Metro Airport, terminating at I-20 near Rory Galloway Day Camp. The project is well into the planning stages, and an Environmental Impact Statement was under preparation in early 2012.

In the longer term, the North Central Texas Council of Governments is studying a very broad outer loop around the entire Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Assuming it receives environmental clearance, funding, and political support, much of it would be completed in the 2020s or 2030s. The PGBT is not part of this outer loop, but the PGBT East Branch alignment was closely coordinated with the loop's master plan. The segment of the proposed outer loop through southern Dallas County would be known as Loop 9 and would likely be the first segment to be built. The eastern terminus of PGBT would link to Loop 9 near the I-20 interchange.

Exit list

Clockwise reads down and counter-clockwise reads up

County	Location	Destination	Notes
Dallas	Grand Prairie	I-20 (Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway) – Fort Worth, Dallas
		Crossland Boulevard/ Forum Drive	Clockwise exit and counter-clockwise entrance
		Mayfield Road, Warrior Trail
		Spur 303 (Pioneer Parkway) / Arkansas Lane
		Marshall Drive
		SH 180 (Main Street) / Dalworth Street
		Tarrant Road, Egyptian Way	Clockwise exit and counter-clockwise entrance
		I-30 (Tom Landry Highway) – Fort Worth, Dallas
		Lower Tarrant Road, Carrier Parkway	Counter-clockwise exit and clockwise entrance
		Oakdale Road	Clockwise exit and counter-clockwise entrance
		Trinity Boulevard, Shady Grove Road
	Irving	Conflans Boulevard
		SH 183 (Airport Freeway) – Fort Worth, DFW Airport, Dallas	Untolled segment of SH 161 begins
		Rochelle Road	Counter-clockwise exit only
		Northgate Drive
		Walnut Hill Lane
		Bush Turnpike resumes
		Belt Line Road
		Toll Plaza
		SH 114 (John W. Carpenter Freeway) – Grapevine, Dallas/ Royal Lane, Gateway Boulevard
		MacArthur Boulevard	Clockwise exit and counter-clockwise entrance
		I-635 west/Los Colinas Boulevard/ Riverside Drive	Clockwise exit and counter-clockwise entrance
		I-635 east	Clockwise exit and counter-clockwise entrance
		I-635	Counter-clockwise exit and clockwise entrance
		Valley View Lane
	Carrollton	Belt Line Road, Luna Road
		Toll Plaza
		Sandy Lake Road
		I-35E – Denton, Dallas
		SH 161 ends and SH 190 begins
		Old Denton Road, McCoy Road
		Josey Lane, Scott Mill Road
		Kelly Boulevard, Trinity Mills Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Denton	Dallas	Toll Plaza
		Frankford Road, Marsh Lane
		Rosemeade Parkway, Midway Road
Collin		Dallas North Tollway
		SH 289 (Preston Road)
	Toll Plaza
	Richardson	Coit Road
		Waterview Parkway	Known as Independence Parkway north of PGBT
		Custer Road
		Alma Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		US 75 – McKinney, Dallas
		Plano Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; Former SH 5, known as Avenue K north of PGBT
		Jupiter Road
		Renner Road
Dallas	Garland
		Toll Plaza
		Lookout Drive, Shiloh Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		Campbell Road	Also westbound exit to Lookout Drive/Shiloh Road
		N. Garland Avenue
		Brand Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; eastbound access from N. Garland Avenue exit
		SH 78 – Wylie, Garland, Dallas	Counter-clockwise exit part of Crist Road/Firewheel Parkway exit
		Crist Road, Firewheel Parkway – Firewheel	Westbound exit and entrance; eastbound exit to Crist Road part of SH 78 exit
		Firewheel Parkway	Eastbound exit and entrance
	Sachse	Miles Road, Merritt Road
		Toll Plaza
	Rowlett	Merritt-Liberty Grove Connector
		SH 66 (Lakeview Parkway) / Main Street
		Miller Road
	Bridge over Lake Ray Hubbard
	Garland	I-30 (US 67) – Dallas, Texarkana	Clockwise exit and counter-clockwise entrance; current end of PGBT

External links

• North Texas Tollway Authority
• Texas Department of Transportation - SH 161 (southern extension)
• Texas Freeways: State Highway 190
• Section 32 Web site | Before and after images of SH 190 Eastern Extension construction