Big upgrades planned for I-20, I-820 loop in Fort Worth, Texas

December 7, 2022

Land Line Staff

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Major construction is planned to massively expand two traffic-choked interstate highways – I-20 and I-820 – in the Fort Worth, Texas, area.

The Southeast Connector will rebuild and widen approximately 16 miles of I-20 and I-820, according to Texas DOT.

The $1.6 billion project will widen I-20 to 10 main traffic lanes from I-820 to U.S. 287, and I-820 to eight main traffic lanes from I-20 to Spur 303 (Rosedale Street) and reconstruct the I-20, I-820, and U.S. 287 interchanges.

Among the planned improvements:

  • Rebuild and widen approximately 11 miles of I-20 and I-820
  • Reconstruct the I-20, I-820 and U.S. 287 interchanges
  • Construct collector-distributor roads to reduce congestion on U.S. 287 and eliminate weaving merge movements.
  • Build Texas turnarounds (a lane allowing vehicles traveling on one side of a one-way frontage road to U-turn onto the opposite frontage road) at all cross streets to improve frontage road connectivity and improve access to ramps.
  • Diverging diamond interchanges will be converted to X-ramp configurations as part of the project.

Major construction is expected to begin in the spring and finish in 2027.

The Texas DOT Fort Worth District has been studying ways to address traffic congestion in the project area since 2000. Design and environmental study updates were initiated in 2016.

The Southeast Connector Project is a design-build project, which means construction begins in areas where the design is complete while other areas continue to be designed. It is being built by South-Point Constructors, a joint venture between Westlake, Texas-based Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., and Dallas-based Austin Bridge & Road Services LP. Dallas-based AECOM is the lead engineering firm on the project.

Information on the project can be found at SoutheastConnector.com. The website has a “Know Before You Go” pull-down menu that is designed to provide updates on road closures associated with the project and detours.

Here is a conceptual project video following U.S. 287 through the project published by Texas DOT.

The first segment of the I-820 loop was completed in 1958 and was largely completed by 1975. The Southeast Connector project is part of the state’s Texas Clear Lanes initiative, a program to address the most congested chokepoints in the state. The first projects were in 2015 after voter-approved funding via Proposition 1 in 2014. All Texas Clear Lanes projects are nontolled.

Texas DOT also recently had a ground-breaking ceremony for a project to bypass a red light at the junction of U.S. 59 and U.S. 287 in preparation for U.S. 59 to eventually be named Interstate 69. LL

More Texas news is available from LandLine.Media.