Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge

 

Project Description: The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) is working cooperatively with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Denton County and the cities of Little Elm, Frisco and Lake Dallas to construct the Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge (LLTB) corridor. The 13.8-mile corridor is divided into eight sections with Section 2 designated as the toll bridge, commonly referred to as LLTB. The NTTA is responsible for the design, construction and operation of the approximately two-mile section that includes a 1.7-mile toll bridge and 0.3-mile approach. LLTB construction consists of the flowage easement bridge, the lake bridge, the electronic toll gantry and re-guarding of the old Lake Dallas Dam. TxDOT and Denton County are responsible for the design and construction of other sections of the corridor.


Project History: The United States Army Corps of Engineers constructed the Lewisville Lake circa 1949. Upon completion of the lake, the Garza Dam was breached, allowing the waters of Lake Dallas to combine with the waters of the new and enlarged lake. When the dam was breached, the existing highway, which provided the connection between the city of Lake Dallas and Little Elm, was closed. Consequently, there was no convenient, direct east-west transportation facility spanning Lewisville Lake. Denton County initiated actions to create a facility crossing the lake and received voter approval of a bond issue for route studies in 1991. Denton County officials contacted the NTTA in 2001 to explore the possibilities of constructing a bridge across Lewisville Lake.


Bridge Structure: The LLTB consists of a short length of approach roadway on each shore of the lake, a lake bridge that crosses the Lewisville Lake, a flowage easement bridge and an electronic tolling collection system on the project’s western approach. LLTB design boasts a 360-foot-long weathering steel tied arch near the center of the bridge. The lighted, semicircular arch will be tied together 58 feet above bridge traffic, spanning all four lanes of the bridge. At its center, the 8-foot- thick bridge sits 52 feet above the Lewisville Lake spillway elevation, meaning that the top of the arch will soar 118 feet above the lake’s surface. The tall arch, coupled with illuminated columns approaching both ends of the span, is destined to give motorists, area residents and boaters an easily recognizable landmark in southern Denton County.


Regional Benefits: Upon completion, the LLTB corridor will open a new east-west connection between Interstate Highway (IH) 35E and the Dallas North Tollway (DNT), transforming Denton County’s infrastructure and providing more mobility options for area residents. The LLTB will also provide the rapidly-growing communities on the east side of Lewisville Lake a direct connection, and potentially improved commute to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.


LLTB QUICK FACTS
Project Limits: IH 35E to Dallas North Tollway
Bridge Length: 1.7 miles
Overall Project Length: 2 miles
Total Project Costs: $122 million
Anticipated Opening: Third quarter 2009


LLTB BY THE NUMBERS
The bridge reached 70 percent completion in September 2008
The finished bridge structure will feature:
4.25 miles of drilled shaft
14.4 miles of concrete beams
A concrete substructure that weighs 34,000 tons
A concrete deck that weighs 32,000 tons
A 360-foot span steel arch that weighs 1,900 tons