State Highway 190

Project Background

An outer loop around Dallas County was first envisioned in 1964. In 1968, the Texas Highway Commission authorized an outer loop around Dallas and designated it as Loop 9. In 1976, a management audit of the State Department of Highway Public Transportation (SDHPT, now TxDOT) indicated a financial shortfall for highway improvements. In 1988, the cities of Garland, Rowlett, Mesquite, and Dallas County sponsored a study to extend SH 190 from SH 78 to IH 20.

In 1991, SDHPT commissioned further study of SH 190 from SH 78 to IH 20 and recommended an alignment. In 2000, the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) began an updated/more detailed study to develop the section from SH 78 to IH 30 as a tollway.

East Branch Project

The East Branch project reviewed previous studies along with new information on population, employment, traffic increases and current-day travel patterns. Based on community and agency input, TxDOT developed and evaluated potential transportation solutions.

Southeast Dallas County

Southeast Dallas County as well as neighboring counties have been continuing to increase in both population and employment. These trends are expected to continue over the next several decades. According to the 2000 Census, the 10-county Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has over 5.1 million residents. By 2030, it has been projected that over 9.1 million people will live here.

Reviews

Over the past several years, the Town reviewed several routes provided by TxDOT. The Town established the State Highway 190 Citizens Committee to review the routes and to determine a preferred route. The Committee originally evaluated three routes based on criteria they developed and recommended Route 2 as the preferred route. The Town Council received the recommendation, and adopted a formal resolution to recommend Route 2.

Routes

Following the Town resolution, Dallas Water Utilities (DWU), and other stakeholders indicated concerns with the recommended route, citing the potential to contaminate the water supply as it is extremely close to DWU's water supply intake. As a result of those discussions, TxDOT added an additional route and requested the Committee and the Town allow them to include the fourth route in the Environmental Impact Study (EIS).

To mitigate the adverse aspects of having a major highway through the Town, the Citizen Committee stressed the desire for whichever route was ultimately chosen to be depressed to help minimize the noise and visual impact to neighboring subdivisions. Once it was determined the fourth route could be depressed more than route 2, and considering the positive economic benefits route 4 offered, the Citizen Committee and Council held a joint session to compare and contrast route 4 with the previously recommended route 2. Route 4 was determined to more favorable in nearly all categories and the Committee and Council voted unanimously to adopt route 4 as the final recommended route to TxDOT.

Current Status

The State Highway 190 Citizens Committee is now in the process of evaluating the number and location of access point(s) and frontage roads along the highway to support the Town's vision, maximizing the benefits and minimizing the adverse impacts.

All 190 Citizen Committee meetings are open to the public and agendas are posted 72 hours prior to the meeting on our Agendas and Minutes page. Additional TxDOT information can be found on the Department's SH 190 - The East Branch Webpage.

Questions

If you have any questions, please contact Town Hall at (972) 226-7177.