ST9904-CS041203{~e Dalla~ ~l~oruilq; ;N'e~ DallasNews.com METRO
Light at the end of the tunnel
-- -- . II Friday, December 3
· ,2004 P'a~ge ;~_B
for 'Grapevine funnel'
Project to relieve 114
bottleneck is set
to begin in 2 years
By MARICE RICHTER
Northeast ~arrant Bureau
SOUTHLAKE -- Traffic usual-
ly zips through the improved areas
of State Highway 114 in Southlake,
but a few miles east, it slows to a
crawl, especially during rash hour..
The problem? Too many vehi-
cles converging in a choke spot that
transportation planners have
dubbed "the Grapevine flannel."
Relief for this intensifying bot-
tleneck, which handles more than
160,000 vehicles a day, has been
discussed for close to 20 years.
Funding to construct interchanges
and highway lanes has been ear-
marked since 200l.
MO~flD
Although transportation offi-
cials had once hoped to start this
$600 million project in 2005, they
now sa.v construction should begin
in about two years.
Officials announced st a region-
al transportation fonun in South-
lake this weekthat planning fi}r the
flannel and another ke.; transporta-
tion prqject in northeast Tarrant
County are moving along.
The funnel project is expected
to take at least five years to cmn-
plete. It will be paid for by the state.
Jerry Hodge, Grapcvine's direc-
tor of public works and a chief ad-
vocate for the funnel project, said
residents can offer input during
spting and summer meetings.
"Our top priority with construc-
tion of this project is to get it done
as quickly as possible and with as
little impact to traffic flow as possi-
ble,'' Mr. Hodge said."We also want
to make sure that access to all cities
and businesses are maintained
thro,u, ghout the construction pro
COSS.
The flannel project will inw~lve
constructing five interchanges,
~,dding fl'eexvay and express lanes,
and widening service roads.
The project will involve roads
that converge into the flannel, in-
cluding highways 121,114 and360;
Interstate 635; FM2499; and In-
ternational Parkway, the north-
south road through Dallas/Fort
Worth IntemationalAirport.
Motorists can expect to pay tolls
for using some of the new lanes, of-
ficials said.
Construction will be done in
phases with the most troublesome
spots to be tackled first, including
the signal lights on Highway 121
near the Grapevine Mills mall area.
Also at the top of the priority list
is the intersection of state highways
114 and 121, Mn Hodge said. The
lack of a freewayintemhange forces
traffic to exit the freeways and
move through that signalized in-
tersection, resulting in congestion
and delays, he said.
Besides the funnel project, the
improvement of FM1938 in the
Southlake, Westlake and Keller ar-
ea is set to begin by 2006.
FM1938, which at various
points is called Precinct Line Road
and Randol MillAvenue, intersects
with FM1709 or Southlake Boule-
yard in Southlake. South of South-
lake Boulevard it becomes Davis
Boulevard, a major north-south
thoroughfare for much of north-
east Tarrant County.
The three-mile area to be im-
proved stretches from Southlake
Boulevard north to State Highway
114. Reconstruction of the FM1938
and Highway 114 intersection is
under way, officials said.
'This is a very important pruject
for this part of northeast Tarrant
County," said Tarrant Count5' Cmn -
missioner Glen Whitley at the
rum.
Mn Whitley is chalru~an of the
Regional ~l~ansportation Council,
which sets transportation funding
priorities for the Dallas-Fort Worth
region.
'SVe feel that this will greatly
improve traffic in that area," he
said.
The $25 million project will bc
done in two phases, with the area
from thc northern tip of Raudol
Mill to State Highwa,v 114 to be
donefirst.
The two-lane FM1938 will bc
widened to six lanes north of Dove
Road and four lanes south of Dove
to FM1709 or Southlake Boule-
yard, Mr. Whitleysald.
The entire project is expected to
be complete by 2010 and will bc
flandcd by the state Transportation
Depar[mcnt.