About time: DART announced today that the first six miles of its new High Occupancy Vehicle lane on Interstate 30 -- the Tom Landry, like anyone refers to the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike by that moniker -- will open tomorrow. Which means only 44 more miles to go as DART begins the 50-mile expansion of its existing 31-mile HOV lane network. Says DART's release, "New lanes are set to open throughout this fall on Central Expressway (U.S. 75), LBJ Freeway (I-635) and East R.L. Thornton (I-30)." And in case you forgot:
In 2008, the I-30 lanes will become the region's first managed HOV facility, allowing access to single-occupant vehicles for a fee. Additional phases of this project will include facility improvements, such as widening of bridges and improved access to better serve the commuters. Eventually, the lanes will operate 20 hours a day and extend from I-820 in Fort Worth all the way to downtown Dallas.More info about the HOV extension and expansion can be found here. In related news, I wonder how Tony Hartzel's doing. --Robert Wilonsky
