After 7 years of construction, 2 new interchange ramps open along I-30 in Arlington
ARLINGTON (CBSNewsTexas.com) – The massive construction project at I-30 and SH 360 in Arlington is another step closer to completion, after seven years of construction.
Two new interchange ramps are now open: The westbound I-30 interchange ramp to SH 360 and the southbound ramp to eastbound I-30.
Crews broke ground on the $233 million project at the beginning of 2016.
"Basically, when we started this project, it was empty sky, and we're going to be substantially complete by the end of the year," said Val Lopez with the Texas Department of Transportation.
The goal is to completely modernize the I-30/SH 360 interchange. It used to be a series of loop road ramps with signals, but all of that is being removed.
Instead, the interchange will be made up of eight ramps, similar to the Mixmaster in Fort Worth or the High Five in Dallas, to improve traffic flow and safety.
Building entirely new structures while still maintaining access through the region, especially to Arlington's Entertainment District, has been a challenge.
"We worked very hard to accommodate as many events as possible, and that did impact the timeline," said Lopez. "But we're at a point construction wise where we're really putting the pedal to the medal."
As of this week, five of the eight ramps are done. The remaining three should be built by the end of 2023.
"The good news is we're really bearing down and making a lot of progress," Lopez said. "In fact, that's some of the concerns with this stage of construction. Traffic patterns are changing daily, so we're asking motorists to stay informed, pay attention as they go through that construction zone."
For the next several nights, all the westbound I-30 main lanes may be closed between Six Flags Drive and Ballpark Way from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for bridge construction. Delays are encouraged to find alternate routes since there will likely be significant delays.