Designing Greater Mobility
Safety and operational efficiency were driving factors when designing the 183 South Expressway and general purpose lanes. An expressway must have a finite number of underpasses or overpasses for cross streets; our design engineers cannot propose a crossing at each adjacent street. Limiting signalized cross streets also optimizes the throughput for both tolled and non-tolled travel by getting people to their destination faster since they don’t have to wait at a light.
Various criteria detailed below were used to prioritize which cross streets remain and which ones will be eliminated. As approved by TxDOT through the environmental study process, five existing signalized cross streets were identified for elimination and are being removed:
- 51st Street
- Techni-Center Drive
- Bolm Road
- Vargas Road
- Thompson Lane
Download the 183 South Project Side Streets Exhibit
As 183 South was developed, traffic engineers identified the major cross streets with the greatest current and future traffic volumes. Priority was placed on maintaining those crossings. As designed, cross street intersections and turnarounds will be spaced roughly every mile. This spacing improves mobility and enhances safety by reducing the number of signalized intersections on the general purpose lanes. It also allows for entrance and exit ramps to be located further away from cross streets, allowing them to function more efficiently.
Based on feedback from residents, and in order to improve mobility, a number of turnarounds or Texas U-turns will be added to facilitate connectivity and the movement of local traffic. The Texas U-turns will be located at Loyola Lane, Martin Luther King Boulevard, near Harold Court, and at Montopolis Drive. These non-signalized Texas U-turns will, in most cases, allow drivers to reach the other side of the new expressway at least as fast as they do today.
By removing the five existing signalized cross streets and incorporating non-signalized U-turns, travel times will be comparable, and in some cases faster, in the future condition despite added travel distance, all due to greater overall mobility throughout the entire corridor.
For more information, please download a presentation on this subject that was provided to the Mobility Authority Board of Directors in June 2016.
For specifics on each cross street removal, please see the following:
There will be non-signalized u-turns at the nearby intersections of MLK Boulevard and Loyola Lane to provide drivers easy access to and from 51st Street.
There will be non-signalized u-turns at the nearby intersections of MLK Boulevard and near Harold Court to provide drivers easy access to and from Techni Center Drive.
However, it was recommended for removal when a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Value Engineering Study identified the complexity of the braided collector-distributor ramp system as a major safety concern due to the high number of conflict points and potential for collisions. The final decision to remove the proposed crossing at Bolm Road considered FHWA Value Engineering Study results and public feedback, and was based on safety, traffic operations, the negative impacts of elevated collector-distributor structures, and cost.
There will be non-signalized u-turns at the nearby intersections of Levander Loop and near Harold Court to provide drivers with easy access to and from neighborhoods and businesses near Bolm Road.
However, during the environmental study phase, public concern was raised about not providing a crossing Vargas Road. To address that concern the design team looked at opportunities to provide a crossing in that area. Vargas was ruled out due to its close proximity to the Montopolis Drive crossing. Vargas Drive was also in close proximity to a number of large historic oak trees that are designated for preservation. Because the design team committed to preserve as many of the large oak trees as possible, engineers found that it was not possible to construct a crossing at Vargas Road or Thompson Lane. Instead they found a suitable location at Patton Avenue.
There will be non-signalized u-turns at the nearby intersections of Patton Drive Montopolis Drive to provide drivers easy access to and from Vargas Road or Thompson Lane.
