Project: Dallas High Five Interchange

1.0 Synopsis

The Dallas High Five Interchange is a five-level direct connection interchange at the intersection of Interstate 635 (also known as the Lyndon B. Johnson/LBJ Freeway) and US 75 (also known as the Central Expressway). The project involved extensive reconstruction of an existing loop interchange to complement other planned transportation improvements in the area, including improvements to the I-635 and US 75 corridors. Before the reconstruction, the interchange was a severely congested bottleneck, and did not have the capacity to accommodate projected increases in traffic volumes. Completed in 2005, the High Five interchange has provided accessibility benefits to the businesses and neighborhoods located in the surrounding area and improved the desirability of the area for future growth and development. Developments within a 1-mile radius around the interchange can be directly attributed to the interchange. These include a 218,000 square foot Wal-Mart Supercenter and a 66,000 square foot medical facility, together responsible for about 400 jobs.

2.0 Background

2.1 Location & Transportation Connections

The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan region is served by six interstates and seven other US highways, as well as numerous state highways, including the NAFTA Superhighway (IH 35). The region is a key trucking and freight distribution center, served by all of the nation's largest rail lines at four intermodal freight centers. The Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport is the third largest in passenger activity in the world. Other airports serving the region include the Fort Worth Alliance Airport, designed to meet air cargo needs, and Dallas Love Field airport that is located three miles from downtown Dallas and is a hub for regional business and commuter travel. According to data from DFW Airport, direct flight time from DFW to nearly any city in the continental U.S. takes four hours or less. Public transit in the region is provided by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) network, serving 200,000 passengers per day within the city of Dallas and 13 surrounding suburban communities.

The High Five Interchange is located about nine miles north of the Dallas central business district. The interchange spans from Forest Lane in the north to Spring Valley Road in the south along US 75 and from just west of Hillcrest Road to east of Greenville Avenue along I-635. Other transportation connections in the immediate vicinity of the interchange are a Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail line that runs parallel to US 75 from downtown Dallas northwards to the cities of Richardson and Plano.

2.2 Community Character & Project Context

The City of Dallas had a population of about 1.3 million in 2008, and approximately 1.16 million jobs projected by 2010. Compared to the nation as a whole, Dallas has a higher concentration of high-wage jobs in the professional and business services, finance and information sectors. Dallas is one of the world's leading locations for corporate headquarters, boasting 45 Fortune 1000 companies in the metropolitan region (including AT&T, which relocated to Dallas in 2008.) According to the city's Office of Economic Development, just over half of Texas' high-tech talent is located in the Dallas Metropolitan area, creating the state's deepest technology labor pool. Job growth in Dallas has exceeded the national average since 2004, a trend expected to continue through 2016. Traffic congestion is one of the greatest challenges facing the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Between 1980 and 2004, the number of vehicle miles traveled increased by over 100 %. Key factors believed to have contributed to this growth include population growth, higher employment levels, increases in automobile ownership, and continued suburbanization.

Due to significant growth in population and employment in the North Dallas region, traffic congestion has consistently been increasing in the project study area. The census tracts located within a 3-mile radius of the interchange had a population of about 157,500 in 2008. All types of land uses existed in the area including a large manufacturing facility for Texas Instruments, the company's corporate headquarters, and single- and multi-family residential developments.

3.0 Project Description & Motives

Completed at a cost of $261 million in 2005, the Dallas High Five interchange is the first five-level interchange in Dallas stretching 3.4 miles east and west and 2.4 miles north and south. It replaced an outdated three-level partial cloverleaf interchange built in the 1960's and was completed 13 months ahead of its original 60-month construction schedule. It was named a Public Works Project of the Year by the American Public Works Association (APWA) in 2006.

Prior to reconstruction, the existing interchange was considered functionally obsolete as it suffered from severe traffic congestion during peak periods. According to the environmental assessment completed in 1993, traffic using the interchange was projected to increase significantly by 2010 due to the anticipated growth in the North Dallas area. The objectives of the interchange project were therefore (1) to eliminate bottleneck conditions existing at the interchange, (2) to improve local access in the interchange area, (3) to increase safety and reduce frequency of incidents, (4) to reduce delays and minimize driver confusion, and (5) to improve mobility in this part of North Dallas by reducing congestion on the two major corridors, US 75 and I-635. The project was expected to have short-term benefits of employment opportunities and increased patronage of local businesses located in the area. Benefits expected in the long-term included increased accessibility and decreased travel delays.

Construction of the interchange project began in 2001, not long after improvements to its northern leg, the part of US 75 known as North Central Expressway, were completed in 1999. The interchange widened US 75 from four to eight lanes and added a high-occupancy vehicle lane connecting to I-635 (LBJ Freeway.) LBJ Freeway has been widened at the interchange from six to 10 lanes, with the addition of four dedicated, barrier-separated, high-occupancy vehicle lanes.

4.0 Project Impacts

4.1 Transportation Impacts

4.2 Demographic, Economic & Land Use Impacts

Several developments have occurred around the interchange since it was completed in 2005 and more are under construction. Within a radius of 3-miles around the interchange, 664,000 square feet of office and retail development have occurred, including a strip mall, a mixed-use development, medical offices, a medical facility and a Wal-Mart Supercenter. In addition, about 850 apartment and townhome units, healthcare facilities with a total of 160 beds, and new schools serving about 2,500 students have been built between 2006 and 2009. Recently, the major developments that have been announced or are already under construction include over 530,000 square feet of new office space, a new private school serving 480 students, a new hotel, multi-family apartment complexes with about 700 units, and the expansion of an existing hospital. Because it is difficult to attribute all these developments to the interchange, an area within a 1-mile radius around the interchange was also analyzed. The development in this area can be more directly attributed to the interchange and includes the 218,000 square feet Wal-Mart Supercenter, responsible for about 300-350 jobs and the 66,000 square feet Forest Park Medical Center that will potentially create about 120 new jobs.

A 27-acre site adjacent to the interchange that originally housed a car dealership and assorted small businesses was bought by a developer in 2006. The site, described as ?one of the most sought after areas in Dallas? is one of the last tracts of land available on US 75 south of I-635 that had become more attractive and easily accessible after the completion of the High Five interchange.

The residential neighborhood of Hamilton Park has retained its character. New developments include a Wal-Mart and a new medical facility. In addition, the marketability of existing commercial buildings has increased and there is evidence that they have increased their percentage of leased space. For instance, the 21-story, 516,200-square-foot Park Central Building III located near the High Five Interchange to its southwest corner, went from nearly vacant at the end of 2005 to 84% occupied by mid-year 2006. The biggest lease was for a mortgage-lending firm that set up its headquarters in over 97,000 square feet and expects to employ 400 new employees. The firm relocated to the area because of the central location, the access to major arteries, and the signage potential of a multi-story tower located near the interchange. To the southwest of the interchange, a large new church has been built, the Dallas Medical City Hospital has been expanded, and a lower-end apartment complex has been redeveloped into higher-end residential space. Finally, to the northwest of the interchange, a new private K-12 school has been built.

Commercial real estate reports for the area along I-635 east of the interchange attribute definite economic impacts to the construction of the interchange. A report by CB Richard Ellis mentions that the interchange has served as a catalyst for renewed tenant demand owing to the high visibility and locational advantages of the area. Between January 2006 and mid-year 2008, asking rents for Class A office space have increased 14 % and occupancy and leasing rates have substantially improved. Additional advantages of the location include the convenient access (15-25 minutes) to the region's airports and proximity to the LBJ-Central DART light rail station. However, some interviewees believed that planned improvements of the transportation corridors in the area that had been occurring since the 1990's and are expected to continue over the next few years, coupled with broader economic forces, make it difficult to associate these impacts with the interchange alone. This is relevant because I-635, US 75, and the interchange itself already existed and were simply improved. Nevertheless, an increased rate of development on originally vacant sites in the area has been observed. Property values in the vicinity of the project have increased; however, the house price index from 1998-2008 shows that this follows global trends in the Dallas metropolitan area and is therefore not directly attributable to the interchange.

The cities of Garland and Richardson to the east of the interchange may have benefitted through spillover impacts as they have been able to market their properties better. The Telecom Corridor in Richardson has also benefitted because travel times to employment centers in the corridor have decreased considerably. Overall, 400 to 500 jobs in the area can be directly attributed to the interchange.

5.0 Non-Transportation Factors

Economic statistics for Dallas indicate that the growth rate of jobs in Dallas has averaged 4.1 % since 2006 and is forecast to increase by 12.1 % by 2016. The population of Dallas is expected to increase from 1.3 million today (2008) to 1.6 million by 2030. To accommodate this growth in a sustainable way, the city is promoting new developments and redevelopment of existing sites in and around downtown, at transit stations, and on greenfield sites. The city's total property tax revenue has increased from $65 billion in 2001 to $90 billion in 2008. These trends indicate that overall, Dallas has been enjoying significant economic growth and development during the construction of the High Five Interchange and since its completion. Other factors contributing to increased development include the absence of any personal or corporate income tax in Texas, a total cost of living in Dallas that is about 8 % lower than the U.S. average, and reasonable housing costs.

Although the interchange has had specific development impacts in the area immediately around it, broader economic factors have impacted the extent of development and will continue to influence development in future years as subsequent transportation improvements, including the LBJ Freeway project, are completed. The fact that the interchange project was approved in 1993 helped advance other planned transportation improvements in the area, so that the cities of Dallas, Richardson and Garland could consider these projects in planning for expected growth.

6.0 Resources

6.1 Citations

1. Final Environmental Assessment: U.S. 75/I.H. 635 Interchange.  U.S. Department of Transportation, FHWA, Texas Department of Transportation, District 18 and Dallas Area rapid Transit, 1993.  Available at: http://www.newlbj.com/default.asp?p=3&s=1
2. Categorical Exclusion: I.H. 635/U.S. 75 Interchange Operational Improvements. City of Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, U.S. Department of Transportation, FHWA, and Texas Department of Transportation, June 2008. Available at: http://www.newlbj.com/default.asp?p=3&s=1
3. Website of The New LBJ Project: http://www.newlbj.com/default.asp?p=4&s=1
4. Texas Department of Transportation website of the LBJ-635 Project: http://www.dot.state.tx.us/project_information/projects/dallas/i635.htm
5. “Dallas High Five Interchange honored.” American Public Works Association June 30, 2006.  Article downloaded from http://www.roadsbridges.com/Dallas-High-Five-Interchange-honored--NewsPiece11716
6.  “Coveted 27 Acres by Dallas' High-Five Interchange Sold.”  Commercial Property News, October 30, 2006.  Article downloaded from: http://www.allbusiness.com/operations/facilities-commercial-real-estate/4419211-1.html
7. CB Richard Ellis report downloaded from link: https://www.peracon.com/OpenFile.aspx?fileId=666536
8. North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) mapping website: http://www.dfwmaps.com/
9. NCTCOG Development Monitoring Database: http://www.nctcog.org/ris/demographics/devmon/
10. 2009 DFW Detail, Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce

6.2 Interviews

Organization

Texas Department of Transportation, Dallas district

Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce

Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A&M University

North Central Texas Council of Governments

City of Dallas

Footnotes

Case Study Developed by ICF International