Denton County Transportation Authority
Brevard noted that the agency’s August service changes, while not major, will improve some connections and will likely yield further ridership increases. Bus ridership is up, which shows staff that passengers are using both modes in their travels, she said. “We had a pretty significant increase in Lewisville, and this past year had to purchase a large bus because of capacity,” Brevard said. Meanwhile, on Interstate 35E, work continues on massive toll lanes running alongside Interstate 35E in northwest Dallas. While those toll lanes are set to open soon, not all the connectors designed to feed the toll lanes have been added to the highway. Until more roadwork is com-
A-train
pleted, the new bridges will only offer short, tolled connections between the existing free lanes of I-35E and I-635. In Denton County, construction continues on the 35Express project and the expansion of the interstate that will tie into the Dallas project. “We work very closely with LBJ Express on the south end of the project,” said Kimberly Sims, spokeswoman for 35Express. “There are times
when we need to coordinate work and closures to be as efficient as possible and lessen impacts on the traveling public.” Sims said the 35Express project’s managed-lane system will tie into I-635’s managed-lane system near the intersection of both roadways. The 35Express managed-lane system will stretch from the Turbeville/Swisher Road area in Hickory Creek south to I635.
Also, the system is reversible. The lanes will flow southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening, and there will be 11 access points along with shoulders and perches for law enforcement officials. “Traffic in the managed-lane system is expected to flow at 50 mph and toll fees will be variable, depending on the amount of congestion in the lanes,” Sims said. Even as all this work goes on, Cline said DCTA will continue to make sure people are aware of the agency as an option before, during and after all the construction. “We’re going to be aiming to see growth opportunities when they present themselves (and) and will look at what makes the most sense going forward. I-35 or not, we will keep working on building ridership.”
13