Interstate 820

Interstate 820 marker

Interstate 820
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length: 35.173 mi[1] (56.605 km)
Existed: October 1, 1959[1] – present
Major junctions
West end: I-20
  I-30
I-35W
SH 121 / SH 183
US 287
East end: I-20
Highway system
I-635SH 824

Interstate 820 (I-820) is a loop of Interstate 20 in Fort Worth, Texas of approximately 35.17 miles (56.60 km) around the city and some of its suburbs. Exit numbers begin at its intersection with I-20 in southwest Fort Worth, and continue in a clockwise direction around the city until it ends at its intersection with I-20 in southeast Fort Worth. A portion of I-820 in the northeast quadrant is co-signed with State Highway 121 as well as State Highway 183. The northwest segment of the loop is officially designated as the Jim Wright Freeway after former United States House Speaker Jim Wright. However, the name is not commonly used, the colloquial reference by the general public is 820.

Route description

I-820 begins in the southwestern Fort Worth at an interchange with I-20. It heads north from this interchange to a junction with Spur 580 before reaching I-30 at a stack interchange. Continuing to the north, the Interstate begins to turn to the northeast as it approaches Lake Worth. It passes near Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth as it passes over Lake Worth. I-820 passes through the city of Lake Worth briefly with junctions at SH 199 and FM 1220 before reentering Fort Worth city limits. Continuing to the northeast, a junction with U.S. Route 287 Business provides access to Fort Worth Meacham International Airport. At an interchange with FM 156 in the city of Saginaw, I-820 begins to head towards the east. Continuing east, I-820 has a junction with I-35W at a stack interchange. The freeway enters the city limits of Haltom City at North Beach Street and has an interchange with US 377 before entering North Richland Hills. As it passes through North Richland Hills, the freeway turns towards the southeast briefly before turning back towards the east at SH 26. As it enters Hurst the freeway has an interchange with a concurrent SH 121 and State Highway 183. I-820 begins to head south after the interchange, now running concurrently with SH 121 and SH 183. At an interchange with SH 10, SH 183 leaves the concurrency to the west. At the next exit, SH 121 leaves I-820 towards the southwest. Continuing towards the South, I-820 leaves Hurst and reenters the Fort Worth city limits. Heading south through eastern Fort Worth, I-820 has a second junction with I-30, also at a stack interchange. After the interchange, the freeway continues south to a junction at SH 180 near Lake Arlington. I-820 begins to follow the western shore of Lake Arlington to an interchange with US 287. I-820 and US 287 both continue to the south to an interchange with I-20 at the end of I-820.[2]

History

The highway was first conceived in 1949 as a beltway around Fort Worth. The first section to open ran from McCart Avenue to US 377 at a cost of $11 million. The southern leg of the loop was re-designated as I-20 in 1972 and finished construction in 1982, completing a continuous loop around Fort Worth.[3]

The loop is often considered the most congested road in North Texas, with the interchanges at Rufe Snow Drive, Holiday Lane and Denton Highway (US 377) being named the first, second and third worst, respectively, in 2010.[4]

Future

I-820 is currently in the process of undergoing a massive reconstruction project between I-35W and SH 121/SH 183 known as the North Tarrant Express. The project was supposed to add additional lanes, add high occupancy toll lanes, add continuous frontage roads, and reconstruct the interchange with I-35W and various other interchanges. Unfortunately, this vision was modified. The highway restricts traffic to only two lanes of traffic from the I-35W/I-820 interchange. After the 183/121 fork, southeast of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the highway boasts up to four lanes at when nearing Spur 97. The North Tarrant Express began construction in October 2010[5] and is expected to be completed in June 2015,[6] but is on track to be done by the end of 2014.[7]

Exit list

The entire route is in Tarrant County.

LocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
Fort Worth1 I-20 Dallas, AbileneSouthbound exit and northbound entrance, western terminus; exit 1 is for 20 west; I-20 exit 428
1ATeam Ranch Roadsouthbound exit and northbound entrance
1BChapin Roadno direct southbound exit (signed at exit 2)
2 Spur 580 (Camp Bowie West Boulevard)
3 I-30 Weatherford, Downtown Fort WorthSplit into exits 3A (west) and 3B (east); I-30 west exits 5A-B, east exits 5B-C
3CWestpoint Boulevard / Alemeda Streetsouthbound exit and northbound entrance
4White Settlement Road
5AClifford Street
5BSilver Creek Road
6Las Vegas Trail / Heron Drive
Bridge over Lake Worth
8Navajo Trail / Cahoba Drive
9Quebec Streetno direct westbound exit (signed at exit 10A)
Fort Worth
Lake Worth
10A SH 199 (Jacksboro Highway)
Lake Worth10B FM 1220 (Azle Avenue)no direct eastbound exit (signed at exit 10A)
Fort Worth12Marine Creek Parkway / Old Decatur RoadSigned as exits 12A (Marine Creek Parkway) and 12B (Old Decatur Road) westbound
13
Bus. US 287 (Main Street) Saginaw
14Railhead RoadWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
Saginaw
Fort Worth
15 FM 156 (Blue Mound Road)
Fort Worth16CMark IV Parkway
16 I-35W / US 287 Denton, Downtown Fort WorthSigned as exits 16A (north) and 16B (south); I-35W exits 57A-B

I-820 Express east to SH 26 / SH 121 / SH 183 DFW Airport
eastbound exit and westbound entrance
17North Riverside DriveWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
Haltom City18Haltom Road / North Beach Street
19 US 377 (Denton Highway)no direct eastbound exit (signed at exit 18)
North Richland Hills20AIron Horse Boulevard / Meadow Lakes DriveWestbound exit and eastbound entrance

I-820 Express west to I-35W
westbound exit and eastbound entrance
20BRufe Snow Drivesigned as exit 20 eastbound
21Holiday Laneno direct eastbound exit (signed at exit 20)
22A SH 26 / FM 1938 north / Bedford-Euless Road Colleyville, TCC Northeast Campussigned as exit 22B northbound, access to North Hills Hospital
Hurst22B SH 121 north / SH 183 east DFW Airport, Dallasnorth end of SH 121 / SH 183 overlap; signed as exit 22A northbound
23A
SH 121 Express north / SH 183 Express east to FM 157
northbound exit and southbound entrance
23 Pipeline Road / Glenview DriveAccess to North Hills Hospital
24A SH 10 east / SH 183 west Richland Hillssouth end of SH 183 overlap; signed as exit 24 northbound
24B SH 121 south Downtown Fort Worthsouth end of SH 121 overlap; no direct northbound exit (signed at exit 24)
Fort Worth25Trinity Boulevard
26Randol Mill Road
27John T. White Road / Bridge Street
28A I-30 Dallas, Downtown Fort WorthSigned as exits 28A (east) and 28B (west) southbound; I-30 east exit 21A, west exits 21B-C
28BBrentwood Stair Roadsigned as exit 28C southbound
29Meadowbrook Drive
30ACraig Streetno direct northbound exit (signed with SH 180)
30B SH 180 (Lancaster Avenue)signed as exit 30A northbound
30B Spur 303 (Rosedale Street)no direct southbound exit (signed with SH 180)
30CRamey Avenue
31East Berry Street
32Wilbarger Streetno direct northbound exit (signed at exit 33B); no southbound entrance
33A US 287 north Downtown Fort Worthnorth end of US 287 overlap
33BMartin Street / Wilbarger StreetNo southbound exit
33CSun Valley Drive
34A I-20 east / US 287 south Waxahachie, Dallassouthbound exit and northbound entrance; south end of US 287 overlap
I-20 west AbileneSouthbound exit and northbound entrance; eastern terminus; I-20 exit 442B
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. 1 2 Transportation Planning and Programming Division. "Interstate Highway No. 820". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
  2. Google (February 24, 2008). "Overview Map of I-820" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  3. Staff. "I-820 Timeline". Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  4. Tomaso, Bruce (February 24, 2010). "Fort Worth's Loop 820 tops list of region's worst". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  5. Staff. "North Tarrant Express". Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  6. Staff. "Project Timeline for the North Tarrant Express (NTE) Project". North Tarrant Express. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  7. Dickson, Gordon (February 21, 2014). "North Tarrant Express to be finished by end of year". Fort Worth Star Telegram. Retrieved April 25, 2014.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 820.
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