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ST9904-PS060215Texas Department of Transportation 121 114 STUDY NEWSLETTER Texas Department of Transportation . 1 Corridor Project? The SH 114/SH 121 Corridor Project, initiated in September of 1996, has reached a major milestone in the identification of measures for relieving congestion north of DFW airport. The new SH 114/SH 121 comdor will be an innovative system to collect and distribute traffic among several major highways efficiently. The new corridor will allow the five converging highways (SH 114, SH 121, SH 360, IH 635 and International Parkway) to interconnect while allowing traffic to flow smoothly. Future demographic projections indicate that an additional 180,000 vehicles per day will use this already overburdened system by the year 2025 resulting in increased congestion and environmental issues. The goal of this study is to gain consensus on potential mobility solutions for the corridor while minimizing any adverse environmental or engineering impacts. Public Involvement and Community Coordination Throughout the SH 114/SH 121 Project, the Study Team has been meeting with a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to build consensus on the most efficient method for easing congestion and increasing mobility through the Funnel (SH 114/SH 121). During these meetings, TAC members came to a consensus concerning the proposed alternative. The TAC concluded that the proposed SH 114/SH 121 alternative has met the local access needs and provided the capacity improvements needed to provide good regional mobility. This alternative can be seen on pages 2-3. The TAC was formed at the beginning of this project to represent various stakeholder and public interests associated with the SH 114/SH 121 region while acting as a facilitator for public input within the communities. In addition, five public meetings were held to inform and solicit additional input from concerned citizens regarding this project. The Preferred Alternative To develop the preferred alternative, the Study Team looked at environmental, mobility and engineering factors to screen the alternatives to promote the favored recommendation. At the fifth public meeting, the express/managed facility option was the proposed option to be carried forward in the study process. This option provides additional general purpose lanes going each direction as well as four managed lanes in the Funnel. The Funnel is the east-west convergence point of five highways, as shown on pages 2-3. The managed lanes will provide flexibility to accommodate additional flow during peak commuter times in the appropriate direction while providing a significant bypass of the SH 114/SH 121 congestion to commuters. Commuters who elect to use the managed lanes may be assessed a toll in the future that may be variable based on the time of day, level of congestion, and number of passengers; while the general purpose lanes will remain free to commuters. In addition, local intersecting streets will undergo engineering and signalization enhancements benefiting local traffic relying on this system. 0 '" a ~3N 0 ~» 0 3 The next opportunity for formal publrc input will he at the sixth open house and publrc meeting scheduled for 6.00 pm on February 23, 2006 to the Grapevte Convention Center, 1209 S Main Street, Grapevine The Project Team will discuss the current status of the study and review the decisions to date The goal of the meeting rs to present the findings of the revtsed proposed plan and gatn consensus The format for this publrc meeting will include an open house followed by a formal presentation and an opportunity for comments and questions The publrc meeting rs one of the many ways to voice your opinions on the SH 1 14/SH 121 protect You may also • Marl comments on the SH 114/SH 12 ] Project to Texas Department of Transportation P O Box 6868 Fort Worth, TX 761 15-0868 Attention Curtis Loftrs, P.E. • Email your comments to cloftrs@dot.state tx us The SH 114/SH 121 Study neu sletter is u perhlicatiorr of the For? Worth Dr.ctrict- Teza.r Departnieut of Trarrsportntrnn. Itr purpose is to iufor-rrr uiterested c rtfens of the SH 114 and SN 121 Project progress urrd upc omurg ererrtc. Texas Department of Transportation 121 114 ~,ri . .+.~,' ~i ~ _ + ~: ,~{ t ~~ _,~ -~ ~~_ ~, ~.71 .<.~ L f.l r i:l i __... $ 0~ 39° Texas Department of Transp~rtanon P U Box 68b8 Fort Worth, TX 761 15-0868 Attention Curtis Loftrs, P E. Next Open House/Public Meeting: February 23 2006 6.00 pm Upen House 7.00 pm Pubh~ Meeting Grapevine Convention Center 1209 S Mam St., Grapevine HDR Enginering, Inc. TxDOT Planning Consultant MR. KEN GRIFFIN DIlZECTOR OF ENGINEERING/PUBLIC WORKS CITY OF COPPELL P O BOX 9478 COPPELL, TX 75019 _ _ ~_ ,