The route links Fort Worth and Dallas. The work includes The Capacity Improvement Project will add a (free) general-purpose lane in each direction along the North Loop of I-820 and a (tolled) managed lane in each direction along Airport Freeway (SH 183). The project will also adjust some of the ramps and connectors, as well as the pedestrian bridge in Hurst.
Project costs will be funded entirely by toll revenue according to Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). No TxDOT funds or public money will be used for the construction. Early activities, including installing construction barriers and striping lanes, will begin in late 2023 with full construction underway in mid-2024. Most of the construction activities will be undertaken overnight to minimise disruption to users. The project is scheduled to take 42 months, with completion anticipated in early 2027.
As with the original corridor constructed, the North Tarrant Express is owned by TxDOT, but NTE Mobility Partners provides 24/7 operations and maintenance for the corridor (general purpose and managed lanes) including all ramps and bridges.
The contract between the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Cintra called for capacity improvements to be made to the NTE corridor once traffic activity reached a certain level. The Average Daily Traffic (ADT) has exceeded traffic projections eight years sooner than anticipated and now TxDOT has approved the beginning of construction to expand the corridor.
The original NTE project began in 2010 after being the first transportation Public-Private Partnership (P3) approved by the Texas Legislature in 2009. The NTE is a major east-west corridor that crosses Northeast Tarrant County and connects all cities between Fort Worth and Irving on I-820 (North Loop) and SH 183 (Airport Freeway). When it opened fully in 2014, the NTE project almost doubled capacity in the corridor and added contiguous frontage roads and a new bridge across I-820 at Riverside Drive.
