The Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway opened in 1969 to accommodate an average of 180,000 vehicles daily. Now Texas Department of Transportation daily counts on I-635 hover around 270,000 as motorists travel between Grapevine and Dallas for work and play, and traffic counts are expected to double by 2020.

A $3.2 billion project approved in 2010 is aimed at doubling I-635's capacity and easing road congestion. The 16.5-mile project includes repairs to existing pavement, widening lanes, and adding shoulders and barrier-separated traffic lanes along I-635 from Luna Road to Greenville Avenue as well as improving I-35E between Loop 12 and Valwood Parkway to create a smooth intersection with the freeway.

Workers will reconstruct four main lanes in each direction as well as frontage roads on I-635 and add frontage roads where necessary to create continuous lanes. A new tolling operation will also be built along the I-635 and I-35E corridors, creating a double-decker configuration in which toll lanes run below the main and frontage lanes. Three new toll-managed lanes going in each direction will be set at different toll rates depending on a number of factors, such as traffic conditions, vehicle type and number of passengers. With an anticipated travel cost of 15 to 55 cents per mile in their first year, the lanes are expected to keep traffic moving at speeds of 50 mph or greater.

Construction for the project began in mid-January 2011 and is scheduled to finish by early 2016. Crews demolished the Joe Ratcliff Pedestrian Bridge last year and are scheduled to reopen the bridge early this year. The Rosser Road Bridge was also demolished and its reopening is anticipated in spring.

• Timeline: Anticipated completion in early 2016.
• Cost: Construction - $2.7 billion; Operations/maintenance - $500 million
• Funding source:

• 1. Texas Department of Transportation/public funds ($490 million)
• 2. Equity from LBJ Infrastructure Group ($664 million)
• 3. Private activity bonds ($615 million)
• 4. Federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan ($850 million)
• 5. The LBJ Infrastructure Group will operate and maintain the LBJ Express at a cost of $500 million over the next 52 years.

For more information, visit www.lbjexpress.com.