By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com
The Texas 121 project received environmental clearance from the Federal Highway Administration last week, allowing the entire project to advance to the next stages of the North Texas Tollway Authority’s development process.
Plans call for extending Texas 121 from Fort Worth to Cleburne as a toll road.
The roadway represents a joint project between NTTA and the Texas Department of Transportation.
“TxDOT is pleased with reaching this next milestone on Texas 121,” said Maribel Chavez, TxDOT district engineer. “We look forward to advancing this project corridor further in partnership with NTTA.”
NTTA now expects to finalize a traffic and revenue study of the project then undertake project financing in August.
Both the Tarrant and Johnson County portions of Texas 121 were initially cleared through the environmental process by TxDOT. In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, environmental reevaluations were required of the project to address any modifications such as adding electronic tolling or changing the construction phasing.
The Tarrant County portion of the road will be four to six lanes. The Johnson County portion will initially be a two-lane roadway with passing lanes.
Construction of two interchanges — one in Cleburne, the other in Fort Worth — is already under way. Federal stimulus funding financed both projects.
In a separate but related project, TxDOT also undertook improvements to the portion of U.S. 67 running through Cleburne. Texas 121 will eventually, via access roads, tie into U.S. 67.
Work on the improvements and the interchange at U.S. 67 should take about a year to complete, said Holly Hughes, TxDOT spokeswoman.
Work on the extension of Texas 121 from Fort Worth to Cleburne is tentatively scheduled to complete in early 2014, NTTA officials said.
Contingent on the results of the traffic and revenue study and financial arrangements, work on the connecting roads is tentatively scheduled to begin around October or November, said Michael Rey, NTTA media relations manager.
“The NTTA looks forward to completing the project the people of Tarrant and Johnson counties have long been waiting for,” NTTA Executive Director Allen Clemson said. “The Authority is excited to be involved in a project that will bring enhanced growth to the region.”
In other Texas 121 news, the project received a name change of sorts last week. Initial plans called for naming the road Southwest Parkway in Tarrant County and Chisholm Trail Parkway in Johnson County.
Gov. Rick Perry last week signed legislation introduced by state Rep. Rob Orr, R-Burleson, officially naming the entire roadway Chisholm Trail Parkway.
“This week can certainly be called Chisholm Trail Parkway Week,” Orr said. “With Gov. Perry signing my legislation naming the Tarrant County portion of the roadway the Chisholm Trail Parkway and the Federal Highway Administration granting the final environmental clearance to the southern portion, this much-needed and long-awaited road will move even faster toward completion.”