Construction crews are nearing completion within the next few months of key pieces of the Chisholm Trail Parkway at University Drive, Forest Park Boulevard, and Interstate 30’s eastern terminus, the North Texas Tollway Authority’s officer over the project told Fort Worth City Council members Tuesday.
Elizabeth Mow, the assistant executive director of infrastructure at the NTTA, said traffic numbers are meeting the agency’s expectations and sales of toll tags are exceeding expectations.
“Your community is really embracing this project, and we couldn’t be happier to be part of it,” Mow said.
Mow said motorists who encounter trouble on the road, which connects downtown Fort Worth to Cleburne, should look for the identifying numbers on the backs of their toll tags and use those when contacting NTTA for help. The agency’s goal is to respond within 11 minutes, no matter where on the road, she said.
Concrete repair, asphalt overlay, pavement markings and sidewalk construction at University Drive should be complete by May, she said.
The exit and entrance onto the parkway from Forest Park Boulevard should be complete by the end of April, she said.
The frontage road ramp from the eastern end of the highway to I-30 should be complete by April, and mainlanes with ramps in June, she said.
“We’re ready to finish up and get out of here,” she said.
The highway has already spawned major new development. Councilman Jungus Jordan, whose South Fort Worth district includes the Chisholm Trail south of Interstate 20, estimates the highway saves him about 250 hours per year of drive time.
“The people of District 6 love it,” he said. “It’s a game changer in southwest Fort Worth. There’s a lot of development coming.”
The road, in the planning for more than 50 years, opened in the spring last year.