“The purpose of the IH-35E projects is to improve the interchanges at these locations,” said Kendall Kirkham Sloan, a Texas Department of Transportation public information officer. “These projects will help accommodate future traffic demands and enhance the safety of these locations along IH-35E.”
The average daily traffic, or ADT, on I-35E in Lewisville varies a little along the corridor, but is roughly 150,000 vehicles per day, which is down slightly over the past two years, presumably because of COVID-19, Lewisville City Engineer David Salmon said. The ADT has remained relatively constant over the past 20 years, he said.
There is still congestion through I-35E, Salmon said. TxDOT is also planning additional expansion through Carrollton and Farmers Branch at roughly the same time frame as the Lewisville projects.
In Lewisville, though, each of the three interchanges will be widened, and murals, walkways and lighting will also be added to make way for easier traffic flows, Salmon said.
On Main Street, the road will be raised and widened with the addition of two lanes. Business SH 121 will be widened to avoid bottleneck traffic flow, and it will remain an underpass, Salmon said. Corporate Drive will shift from being an overpass to an underpass below I-35E, which means I-35E will be raised through that corridor.
Main Street will remain an overpass structure and Business SH 121 will remain an underpass structure.
“The most important thing is a much better traffic flow,” Salmon said. “It has been a long time coming.”
TxDOT is spearheading the project, which will be funded through a combination of state and federal funds, Kirkham Sloan said. The Main Street project will cost more than $66 million, and the Corporate Drive and Business SH 121 project will cost about $146.45 million.
TxDOT looks to have construction begin on Main Street in 2023, and construction on Corporate Drive and Business SH 121 will tentatively begin in 2025, Kirkham Sloan said.
Construction will start first at the city level to move utilities ahead of TxDOT’s work, Salmon said.
That work is slated to start in March on Main Street. Moving the utility lines will take about six months. Utility work will follow on Corporate Drive and Business SH 121 a few months later.
There will be some detouring during the utility phase of the project, which is handled by the city, Salmon said.
During that time, Salmon said traffic flow will be disrupted.
