TransCore is in the middle of deploying over 100 miles (161km) of Express Lanes throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, as part of a sweeping initiative to increase mobility along the region’s busiest corridors.
With 34 lanes already operational, TransCore and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) expect the work to be completed by the end of 2018. In 1998, TransCore deployed the USA’s first dynamically-priced Express Lane system in California. As Express Lanes have become more prevalent throughout the country and matured in the decades since, agencies are able to more rapidly deploy complex systems using a variety of proven dynamic pricing algorithms based on desired mobility objectives. The company’s Express Lane systems are currently installed along more than 600 miles (966km) of Express Lanes throughout California, Florida, Utah, Minnesota, Virginia, and Texas.
The current status of individual Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area corridors is:
• I-30 Managed Lanes – TransCore has completed construction of the area’s first fully-automated, reversible direction open road tolling (ORT) system along I-30, a major east/west corridor. The innovative design includes 16 miles (25.7km) of dynamically-priced managed lanes, of which 7.6 miles (12.2km) are reversible to better accommodate heavier traffic during peak travel times. The company has also provided a Managed Lane Dashboard, enabling TxDOT to remotely monitor and manually control incidents, as they arise;
• I-635 Express Lanes – In August, TransCore completed nearly 10 miles (16km) of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Express Lanes along I-635 just east of downtown Dallas, connecting US 75 to I-30. The addition of a new managed lane in each direction provides motorists with a tolled, lower congestion choice during peak travel times;
• I-35E Managed Lanes – Construction continues on the I-35E managed lanes running north/south from Farmers Branch to Denton, with the scheme expected to open in May 2017. The managed lanes will include nine toll zones, five of which will be reversible. As with all TxDOT Express Lanes, the cost of these dynamically-priced lanes will be displayed on roadside Toll Rate Dynamic Message Signs;
• Midtown Express Managed Lanes – TransCore also continues construction of nearly 30 miles (48.3km) of managed lanes along SH 114 north of Irving, and SH 183 east of Euless. Known as the Midtown Express, this project adds one new managed toll lane in each direction in some locations along both corridors, and is expected to be completed in 2018;
• DFW Connector – In 2014, TransCore completed 4 miles (6.4km) of managed lanes on the DFW Connector along SH 114 in Grapevine. The Express Lanes provide motorists with lower congestion options, particularly when traveling to and from the DFW International Airport.
All toll locations are equipped with TransCore’s Infinity Digital Express Lane System, which consists of Encompass 6 readers that enable toll interoperability within the region and across the country. They also include the Intelligent Vehicle Identification System to accurately classify vehicles, the Vehicle Capture and Recognition System to capture video images, and a dynamic pricing module that accounts for specific roadway geometries, traffic patterns, and operational business rules.
