Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex get around · Get around Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
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Get around Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
Get around Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
For those new to the Metroplex, the area's elaborate highway system can be a bit confusing. The D/FW area has long had a tradition of naming numbered highways, e.g. U.S. Highway 75 is known as Central Expressway. The following is a fairly comprehensive list of the numbered freeways in the Metroplex and their corresponding names.
Dallas County
Interstate 20: Though officially named the "Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway", IH20 in Dallas is usually referred to as just "IH20", or simply "20".
Interstate 30: IH30 is known as the Tom Landry Freeway from the Tarrant County line until its interchange with IH35E in Downtown Dallas (known colloquially as the "Dallas Mixmaster"), where it becomes known as the East R.L. Thornton Freeway. Travelers must take note that south of the Mixmaster, IH35E is known as the South R.L. Thornton Freeway, a fact that may cause a bit of confusion.
Interstate 35E: North of the interchange with IH30 downtown, IH35E is known as the Stemmons Freeway.
Interstate 45: IH45 is known as the Julius Schepps Freeway.
Interstate 635: IH635, which forms a 3/4 loop around the city of Dallas, is known as the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, which is often shortened to the "LBJ Freeway" or simply "LBJ".
U.S. Highway 67: US 67 is known as the Marvin D. Love Freeway.
U.S. Highway 75: US 75 is known as Central Expressway.
U.S. Highway 80: US 80 is known simply as "Highway 80".
U.S. Highway 175: US 175 is known as the C.F. Hawn Freeway.
Texas State Highway Loop 12: Loop 12 is alternately known as Walton Walker Boulevard, Northwest Highway, Ledbetter Drive, Military Parkway and Kiest Boulevard. The stretch known as Walton Walker Boulevard is the only segment that is a limited access freeway.
Texas State Highway 114: SH114 is known as the John Carpenter Freeway.
Texas State Highway 183: SH183 is known as the Airport Freeway.
Texas State Highway 310: While not a true limited access freeway, SH310 is known as the S.M. Wright Freeway.
Texas State Highway Spur 366: Spur 366 is known as the Woodall Rogers Freeway.
The Dallas area is also currently served by two tollways: the Dallas North Tollway (colloquially known simply as "the Tollway") and the President George Bush Turnpike (generally referred to as "the Bush Turnpike"; also locally abbreviated as "PGBT"). These two tollways often provide a welcome respite from Dallas' famously bad traffic.
Tarrant County
Interstate 20: In Arlington, IH20 is known as the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway, and in Fort Worth IH20 is usually referred to as just "IH20", or simply "20".
Interstate 30: In Fort Worth, IH30 is known simply as the East Freeway or the West Freeway, with the line of demarcation being downtown. In Arlington and points east, it is known as the Tom Landry Freeway.
Interstate 35W: IH35W is simply known as the North Freeway or the South Freeway with the line of demarcation being downtown.
Interstate 820: IH820 is known as Loop 820 or the Loop, more specifically by the area of town it runs through. Thusly, a driver traveling north along the section of freeway on the eastern side of Fort Worth would be described as "traveling northbound on East Loop 820".
U.S. Highway 287: On the southeastern side of Fort Worth, US 287 is known as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freeway.
Texas State Highway 114: In Grapevine and Southlake, SH114 is known as Northwest Parkway.
Texas State Highway 121 and Texas State Highway 183: A long stretch of SH183 co-signed with SH121 is known as the Airport Freeway.
Texas State Highway 360: In Arlington SH360 is alternately known as Watson Road and the Angus Wynne Freeway, but is generally just referred to as "360".
The Metroplex is notorious for its traffic congestion, so a traveler unfamiliar with the area should leave a significant time for error in learning the area. The worst times to be on the freeways in the D/FW area are the rush hour times, generally between 6-9 A.M. and 4-7 P.M. Traffic on the weekends is usually fairly pain-free, but it does not take much to cause a significant backup. Pay close attention to local television and radio for backup information.
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Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.