| North Central Expressway |
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]] The Central Expressway is a north-south road, mostly built to Freeway standards, in Dallas , Texas ( USA ) and surrounding areas. The best-known section is the '''North Central Expressway''', a freeway carrying U.S. Route 75 from its south end at Interstate 345 (signed as I-45 ) and Spur 366 (Woodall Rodgers Freeway) in downtown Dallas north past Richardson and Plano . At that Interchange , North Central Expressway heads south in the Median of I-345, eventually splitting and running through downtown on the surface. It becomes the '''South Central Expressway''' at Main Street, crossing Interstate 30 at a three-level interchange, and continuing south as a surface road. Upon crossing Interstate 45 , it becomes U.S. Route 175 and changes names to the '''SM Wright Freeway'''. Where US 175 turns off to the east, the road continues south as State Highway 310 ; the SM Wright Freeway name ends at Loop 12 , past the end of Freeway standards. The South Central Expressway continues past a partial interchange with Interstate 20 to end at a merge with I-45 north of Hutchins . This section through and south of downtown serves mainly local traffic, as it parallels the newer I-45. The North Central Expressway runs near high-income neighborhoods and enclave cities such as Highland Park and University Park . The freeway is also adjacent to popular districts like Uptown , Cityplace , NorthPark Center , and the Telecom Corridor . Near the intersection of Central Expressway and Mockingbird Lane is a prestigious private university, Southern Methodist University , and the popular Mockingbird Station project. North Central Expressway was once one of the most poorly designed freeways in the nation. Texasfreeway.com - Photos from after renovation Texasfreeway.com - Historic photos Though initially an engineering marvel as Dallas's first freeway, the explosive growth that soon hit North Dallas and the nearby suburbs quickly overwhelmed its design and capacity (only two lanes in each direction). In the early 1980s, TxDOT floated plans to build an elevated structure above the existing freeway. After considerable study and debate, elevated structures were eliminated. Construction started in 1992 and was finally completed in November 1999. Total reconstruction cost was around $ 600 million. The facility has 8 continuous general-purpose lanes from downtown Dallas to Legacy Drive in Plano except for a smaller, six-lane the segment where it passes under Interstate 635 (two additional lanes are present but are only entrance ramps/exit ramps for Forest Lane and Midpark Road). For the six miles north of Downtown Dallas the freeway sits over 30 feet below the adjacent frontage roads. Its architecturally distinctive design distinguishes it as one of the nation's most attractive urban freeways. Every structure and element along the highway right-of-way was given aesthetic attention during the design phase. Support columns for overpasses and bridges have been designed to be as visually appealing as possible. The beige concrete columns which form the support structure for the retaining walls contrast with the brown, textured infill panels of the walls to create a multicolored and articulated edge to the freeway. Two million square feet of these walls along the nine mile-long project distinguishes the freeway. REFERENCES |
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