By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com
The 28-mile extension of Texas 121 from downtown Fort Worth to Cleburne will be known as Chisholm Trail Parkway.
Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill into law on Thursday approving the name.
State Rep. Rob Orr, R-Burleson, introduced the bill late last year.
Original plans called for naming the planned toll road Chisholm Trail Parkway in Johnson County and Southwest Parkway in Tarrant County.
“I’ve heard people say the name [Southwest and Chisholm Trail Parkway] is too long, and it should all be named one or the other,” Orr said last December. “So I thought I’d be proactive and introduce a bill to name it all Chisholm Trail.”
Others had suggested naming the entire stretch Southwest Parkway or after [former Fort Worth Councilman] Chuck Silcox or [former Fort Worth car dealer] Charlie Hillard.
Orr said he had no problems with those suggestions although he still believed Chisholm Trail Parkway to be the best name.
“Those are fine suggestions,” Orr said. “But I think Chisholm Trail fits best given that it plays into the history of Johnson County, Tarrant County and Fort Worth as well.”
State Rep. Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth, also supported Orr’s suggestion.
“I’m very excited Gov. Perry signed the Chisholm Trail Parkway name into law,” Orr said on Friday. “After 40 years of working on this project, we now have one name, and a name I think represents the heritage and western history of our area.”
Work on interchanges both in Cleburne and Fort Worth is underway. Work on the connecting road is expected to commence in the near future.