President George Bush Turnpike - History

History

The corridor of SH 161 and the Turnpike was first proposed as an outer loop within Dallas County in 1957. The 1964 plan was the first to designate it as a freeway, and in 1969 the full loop was added to the state highway system as Loop 9. The loop would begin at Interstate 20 just east of the Tarrant County line and head north (along a corridor still planned as an extension of SH 161). From State Highway 183 it would run roughly along present SH 161, turning north on Belt Line Road and east just south of the Denton County line, crossing Interstate 35E near the present junction. Rather than cross into Denton and Tarrant Counties, the loop would stay in Dallas County, running roughly where Campbell Road is now. It would rejoin the present Turnpike alignment and head southeast to Interstate 30 west of Lake Ray Hubbard. The south part of the loop would continue in a roughly circular route to end at the junction of Interstate 20 and Spur 408, several miles east of the beginning of the loop. The short Spur 484, designated in 1970, would run from Loop 9 at Belt Line Road northeast along the present Turnpike alignment to Interstate 635.

Some of the opposition to the loop came from the city of Richardson, which was already divided by the Central Expressway. In conjunction with Plano, the city acquired empty right-of-way about two miles (3 km) to the north, where the Turnpike now runs, and set the centerline of the right-of-way to the border between Richardson and Plano.

Loop 9 was cancelled in 1977, and the western and northern section was split between two new designations: State Highway 161 from Interstate 20 to State Highway 114 (at Belt Line Road) and State Highway 190 from Interstate 35E to State Highway 78. (The piece between SH 114 and IH 35E was removed from the state highway system.) Spur 484 was absorbed into SH 161 in 1979, making its northern terminus Interstate 635 (at Valley View Lane). The connection between I-635 and I-35E was added to SH 161 in 1988.

Construction on service roads began in late 1988 in north Garland and Richardson. A stack interchange was constructed in 1990 at U.S. Highway 75 in Richardson, which quickly became a white elephant as the structure remained abandoned for several years. In 1995 following a revision in federal laws, authorities agreed to shift to a toll financing scheme, providing an infusion of cash and new construction. The SH 190 designation was removed from the plans for the not-yet-constructed main lanes in 1996, and in 1998 SH 161 was removed from the piece between Belt Line Road and I-635 (Segment V).