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 State Highway 121 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SH 121; mainline in red, business routes in blue | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byTxDOT | ||||
| Length | 85.563 mi[1] (137.700 km) | |||
| Existed | by 1939–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  US 67 inCleburne | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| North end |  SH 78 in Bonham | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Texas | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
State Highway 121 (SH 121) is astate highway angling from southwest to northeast through north centralTexas. It runs fromCleburne, Texas atUS 67 toSH 78 inBonham, Texas, just north of a junction withUS 82.
Between Fort Worth andEuless, SH 121 is known asAirport Freeway (east of Euless, this name applies toSH 183). East of Coppell, the highway functions as the frontage road for theSam Rayburn Tollway, atoll road that runs northeast toMcKinney. From McKinney toMelissa, the state highway isconcurrent withUS 75 and theNorth Central Expressway. Northeast of Melissa, SH 121 is a less-traveled roadway often referred to as theSam Rayburn Highway.
Sections between downtown Fort Worth and Grapevine are freeway, including a small segment nearHurst that coincides withInterstate 820. AtBedford, Texas it has an interchange withSH 183, theIrving freeway that leads toward Dallas; it has an interchange withSH 360, which leads towardArlington, just to the west of the north entrance to theDallas/Fort Worth International Airport, to which State Highway 121 gives access. At Grapevine it has interchanges withSH 114 andInterstate 635 before becoming a limited-access tollway that passes betweenLewisville andFrisco.
It is very heavily traveled south and west of McKinney and has become an urban highway due to the rapid growth of theDallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Service roads extending southwest to northeast along the corridor from Lewisville to McKinney are free of charge; however the main lanes within the right-of-way are tolled as part of theSam Rayburn Tollway operated by theNorth Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA). The highway's northeastern section between Melissa and Bonham carries less traffic and until recently was a two-lane rural highway. However, in recent years with an increase in traffic, the 19 mile section between the Collin–Fannin county line and its junction with SH 56 in Bonham has been upgraded to a "Super Two" highway system. This allows for alternating passing lanes. Beginning in 2016, the segment between Melissa and the Collin–Fannin county line is being upgraded to a four-lane divided highway system. In addition, a two-mile stretch between SH 56 and US 82 within Bonham city limits, was upgraded to a four-lane highway system with a continuous left-hand turn lane. Long term planning calls for upgrading the 19 mile stretch, from the Collin–Fannin county line to SH 56 in Bonham, into a four-lane divided highway system.
It meetsInterstate 35E at Lewisville,SH 289 near Frisco,US 75 andUS 380 in McKinney,US 69 atTrenton, andSH 78 just north of Bonham.
Construction began in 2009 on the extension of 121 south from Fort Worth toCleburne, as a toll road calledChisholm Trail Parkway in Tarrant and Johnson Counties. This section is operated by the NTTA and the entire project, from I-30 to U.S. 67 opened to traffic in 2013.[2]
In March 2009, work was completed on the eventual southbound lanes on a short stretch of 121 northeast of DFW Airport, which currently shares southbound and northbound traffic. This work upgraded two signalized at-grade intersections to a freeway, with overpasses at both intersections, improving traffic in that area.[3] The northbound freeway lanes are currently under construction, which also include new, separate exits and entrances for Freeport Parkway and Grapevine Mills Boulevard/Sandy Lake Road.
From McKinney toCoppell, State Highway 121 acts as afrontage road to Sam Rayburn Tollway, contrary to the popular misconception that the Sam Rayburn Tollway was the new SH 121.
In early 2007, the Spanish firmCintra agreed to a $2.8 billion, 50-year deal where they would lease the highway from TxDOT, finish building and maintain it, and collect the tolls.[4] However, critics of the deal questioned both its length—the contract allowed Cintra to collect tolls for 50 years—and the fact that the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) was prevented from bidding on the contract. In addition, general opposition to the toll plan organized, pointing out that the segment throughDenton County had already been paid for by taxpayer money.[5]
To answer some of these complaints, Texas legislators pressed theTexas Department of Transportation to allow the NTTA to bid.[6] The Authority announced their proposed bid in early May 2007, which would provide approximately $3.3 billion in road funding, but is based on traffic counts that differ from those used by Cintra.[7]
On June 28, 2007, the Texas Transportation Commission announced it would pursue the proposal from the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA).[8]
SH 121 was originally numbered on March 17, 1927, as a direct routing between Fort Worth andSH 40 near the Dallas–Denton county line.[9] On April 24, 1928, it was extended to McKinney.[10] By 1933, the route had been completed from Ft. Worth northeast through Grapevine to its intersection with SH 40/U.S. Route 77 in far southern Denton County. On July 15, 1935, the east end was truncated to the Denton–Dallas county line.[11] On January 6, 1939, the section from the Dallas–Denton county line to SH 40/US 77 was restored.[12] A road was designated on February 21, 1938, from SH 114 to SH 121; eitherSH 114 Loop orSH 121 Loop. This was renumbered asLoop 10 on September 26, 1939.[13]
On November 24, 1941, SH 121 was extended from old US 77 to new US 77. On December 16, 1943, the section of SH 121 from US 77 (former SH 40) to McKinney was restored, and the ambitious plan to extend SH 121 northeast beyond McKinney toBonham was approved by TxDOT, a part of which absorbed Farm to Market Road 82 betweenBonham andTrenton. The section from Bonham to Randolph was designated asSH 263 until March 21, 1939. It was not until 1954 that the next section of this highway was completed between U.S. 77 atLewisville and U.S. Route 75 near McKinney. The final section between McKinney and Trenton was not completed until November 20, 1963, including an extension around the western side of Bonham. In 1965, the section from downtown Fort Worth to Interstate 820 was transferred to newly completed freeway sections. On November 31, 1969, SH 121 was rerouted overSpur 459, which was cancelled. The old route of SH 121 was given to the city of Grapevine.
TxDOT proposed extending SH 121 toFM 1187, via a route to be known as the Northside–Southwest Freeway, on October 4, 1973.[14] This proposed extension was canceled on August 29, 1985.[15]
On April 14, 1980, SH 121 was relocated in Bedford and Grapevine. On November 18, 1999, SH 121 was rerouted overSpur 553, which was cancelled. The old route of SH 121 became Business SH 121. On February 27, 2003, the SH 121 designation was extended to US 67 in Cleburne. This extension, known as theChisholm Trail Parkway (CTP), was built in stages from 2008 to 2014 and opened to traffic on May 11, 2014. The CTP's frontage roads in southwest Fort Worth are signed as SH 121.
| County | Location | mi[16] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SeeChisholm Trail Parkway, I-30, and I-35W | |||||||
| Tarrant | Fort Worth | 0.0 | 0.0 |    I-35W /US 287 /US 377 south –Waco,Denton   Spur 347 west (Belknap Street) –Downtown Fort Worth | I-35W exit 52B, access toFort Worth Central Station via westbound Spur 347 | ||
| 0.8 | 1.3 | Sylvania Avenue | |||||
| 1.2 | 1.9 | Riverside Drive | |||||
| 2.1 | 3.4 | Beach Street | |||||
| 2.7 | 4.3 | Maxine Street | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||||
| Haltom City | 3.1 | 5.0 | Haltom Road | ||||
| 4.2 | 6.8 | Carson Street | |||||
| 4.9 | 7.9 | Minnis Drive | |||||
| Richland Hills | 6.4 | 10.3 | Handley–Ederville Road | Access toTrinity Lakes Station | |||
| Hurst | 7.3 | 11.7 |   I-820 south | south end of I-820 overlap; SH 121 south follows exit 24B | |||
   SH 10 east /SH 183 west –Richland Hills | south end of SH 183 overlap; I-820 exit 24A | ||||||
| 8.4 | 13.5 |  Pipeline Road / Glenview Drive | I-820 exit 23, access to North Hills Hospital | ||||
     SH 121 Express north /SH 183 Express east toFM 157 | northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-820 exit 23A | ||||||
| 8.5 | 13.7 |   SH 26 /FM 1938 north (Davis Boulevard) / Bedford-Euless Road –Colleyville,TCC Northeast Campus | I-820 exit 22B | ||||
| 8.9 | 14.3 |  I-820 west | north end of I-820 overlap; SH 121 north follows exit 22A | ||||
| 10.1 | 16.3 |  FM 3029 north (Precinct Line Road) / Hurstview Drive | |||||
| Hurst–Bedford line | 11.5 | 18.5 | Norwood Drive / Brown Trail | ||||
| Bedford | 12.5 | 20.1 | Bedford Road / Forest Ridge Drive | ||||
| 13.0 | 20.9 | Central Drive / Forest Ridge Drive | Access to Texas Health HEB | ||||
| 13.6 | 21.9 |  SH 183 east –DFW Airport South Entry,Irving | north end of SH 183 overlap; no direct southbound exit (signed at Murphy Drive) | ||||
| 14.0 | 22.5 | Westpark Way / Murphy Drive | |||||
| 15.0 | 24.1 | Harwood Road | |||||
 SH 121 Express south /SH 183 Express west toI-820 | southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||||||
| Bedford–Euless line | 16.7 | 26.9 | FM 157 south / Cheek-Sparger Road | ||||
| Euless–Grapevine line | 17.2 | 27.7 | Glade Road | ||||
| Grapevine | 18.1 | 29.1 | Hall-Johnson Road | ||||
| 18.7 | 30.1 |  ToSH 360 / Stone Myers Parkway | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||||
| 19.3 | 31.1 | SH 360 south –Arlington | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||||
| 20.8 | 33.5 |   SH 114 west (SH 26 south) toFM 1709 / William D. Tate Avenue –Bridgeport | south end of SH 114 overlap | ||||
| 21.9 | 35.2 |  SH 26 north /Bus. SH 114 west (Texan Trail) / Main Street –Grapevine Historic District | no northbound entrance | ||||
| 22.4 | 36.0 | SH 114 east –Dallas | North end of SH 114 overlap | ||||
| 22.9 | 36.9 | DFW Airport (International Parkway) | |||||
| 24.3 | 39.1 |   I-635 east | I-635 exit 36 | ||||
| 24.7 | 39.8 | Bass Pro Drive / Bethel Road / Grapevine Mills Trail | |||||
| 25.3 | 40.7 |  FM 2499 north (Grapevine Mills Parkway) –Flower Mound | northbound exit and southbound entrance, access toGrapevine Mills Mall | ||||
| Dallas | Coppell–Grapevine line | 26.2 | 42.2 | Grapevine Mills Boulevard / Sandy Lake Road / Freeport Parkway | |||
| Denton | Lewisville | 27.6 | 44.4 |  Bus. SH 121 north –Lewisville | |||
| Dallas | Coppell–Lewisville line | 28.8 | 46.3 |   Sam Rayburn Tollway north / Denton Tap Road –McKinney | north end of freeway; south end of Sam Rayburn Tollway | ||
| Denton | Lewisville | 30.0 | 48.3 | Sam Rayburn Tollway / MacArthur Boulevard | |||
| 31.1 | 50.1 |  Sam Rayburn Tollway south /I-35E (US 77) –Denton,Dallas,D/FW Airport,Fort Worth | south end of Sam Rayburn Tollway overlap; south end of freeway; I-35E exits 447A-447B-448A | ||||
| Carrollton | 32.3 | 52.0 | Marchant Boulevard / Huffines Boulevard | ||||
| 33.2 | 53.4 | Sam Rayburn Tollway north / Hebron Parkway | north end of Sam Rayburn Tollway overlap; north end of freeway | ||||
| 34.3 | 55.2 | Sam Rayburn Tollway / Carrollton Parkway | |||||
| Lewisville | 35.1 | 56.5 |  Sam Rayburn Tollway south /FM 544 | ||||
| 35.7 | 57.5 |  Sam Rayburn Tollway /Bus. SH 121 south /FM 2281 south –Lewisville | |||||
| 36.6 | 58.9 | Sam Rayburn Tollway / Standridge Drive / Castle Hills Drive | |||||
| 36.9 | 59.4 |  Sam Rayburn Tollway /FM 423 north (Main Street) / Josey Lane –Little Elm | |||||
| The Colony | 38.3 | 61.6 | Sam Rayburn Tollway / Paige Road / Plano Parkway | ||||
| Sam Rayburn Tollway south | southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||||||
| 39.9 | 64.2 | Sam Rayburn Tollway / Spring Creek Parkway | |||||
| Collin | Plano–Frisco line | 40.7 | 65.5 | Sam Rayburn Tollway / Legacy Drive | |||
| 41.7 | 67.1 |  ToDallas North Tollway / Dallas Parkway | |||||
| Sam Rayburn Tollway / Parkwood Boulevard | |||||||
| 42.8 | 68.9 |  Sam Rayburn Tollway north /Dallas North Tollway /SH 289 (Preston Road) | |||||
| Sam Rayburn Tollway / Ohio Drive | interchange | ||||||
| 43.9 | 70.7 | Sam Rayburn Tollway north / Hillcrest Road / Rasor Boulevard | |||||
| 45.2 | 72.7 | Sam Rayburn Tollway / Coit Road | |||||
| 46.3 | 74.5 | Sam Rayburn Tollway / Independence Parkway | |||||
| Plano–Frisco– Allen–McKinney quadripoint | 47.2 | 76.0 |  Sam Rayburn Tollway south /FM 2478 north (Custer Road) | ||||
| Allen–McKinney line | 48.1 | 77.4 | Sam Rayburn Tollway / Exchange Parkway | ||||
| 49.0 | 78.9 | Sam Rayburn Tollway north / Alma Drive | |||||
| 50.0 | 80.5 | Sam Rayburn Tollway / Stacy Road | |||||
| 50.8 | 81.8 | Sam Rayburn Tollway / Watters Road / Lake Forest Drive | |||||
| 51.8 | 83.4 | Sam Rayburn Tollway / Chelsea Boulevard / Hardin Boulevard | |||||
| 52.9 | 85.1 |   US 75 south toSH 5 (viaSpur 399 east) –Dallas | south end of US 75 overlap; SH 121 south follows exit 39 | ||||
| seeUS 75 | |||||||
| Melissa | 61.2 | 98.5 | US 75 north –Sherman | north end of US 75 overlap; SH 121 north follows exit 45 | |||
| SH 5 south | south end of SH 5 overlap | ||||||
| 62.2 | 100.1 | SH 5 north –Melissa,Anna | Interchange; north end of SH 5 overlap | ||||
| 63.7 | 102.5 |  FM 545 (East Melissa Road) –Melissa,Blue Ridge | |||||
| 64.9 | 104.4 |  FM 2933 south –New Hope | |||||
| Anna | Outer Loop Road | ||||||
 FM 455 west –Anna | south end of FM 455 overlap | ||||||
 FM 455 east toFM 2862 | north end of FM 455 overlap | ||||||
| | 71.6 | 115.2 | FM 2862 –Westminster | ||||
| Desert | 75.4 | 121.3 |  SH 160 –Whitewright,Blue Ridge | ||||
| Fannin | Trenton |  FM 814 west | south end of FM 814 overlap | ||||
| FM 814 east –Trenton | north end of FM 814 overlap | ||||||
| 80.7 | 129.9 |  US 69 /Bus. US 69 –Whitewright,Leonard | Interchange | ||||
| | 86.0 | 138.4 | Bus. SH 121 north | ||||
| | 86.5 | 139.2 |  SH 11 –Sherman,Commerce | Interchange | |||
| | 87.7 | 141.1 | Bus. SH 121 south –Randolph | ||||
| | 90.5 | 145.6 |  FM 1629 east –Edhube | ||||
| | 93.0 | 149.7 |   Spur 311 north toSH 56 west –Sherman,Sam Rayburn House | ||||
| Bonham | 93.7 | 150.8 | SH 56 west –Sherman | South end of SH 56 overlap | |||
| 94.2 | 151.6 | SH 56 east –Bonham,Sam Rayburn Library | North end of SH 56 overlap | ||||
| 96.1 | 154.7 |  US 82 –Sherman,Paris | US 82 exit 670 | ||||
| 96.9 | 155.9 |  FM 898 west –Ector | |||||
| | 98.3 | 158.2 | SH 78 –Durant,Bonham | ||||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||||
 Business State Highway 121-D | |
|---|---|
| Location | Randolph |
| Length | 1.734 mi[17] (2.791 km) |
| Existed | 1990[17]–present |
Business State Highway 121-D (Bus. SH 121-D) is a business route of SH 121 that serves the town ofRandolph. The highway was designated in 1990 with the mileage being transferred from Loop 451.[18]
Bus. SH 121-D begins at an intersection with SH 121 and travels northeast before intersecting withFM 896. After intersecting with FM 896, the highway runs north and has a brief overlap withSH 11 through the town. After leaving the concurrency with SH 11, Bus. SH 121-D runs north and northeast before ending at an intersection with SH 121.
The entire route is inFannin County.
| Location | mi[19] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 0.0 | 0.0 | SH 121 | ||
| Randolph | 0.5 | 0.80 |  FM 896 south –Leonard | ||
| 0.6 | 0.97 | SH 11 west –Whitewright,Bonham | South end of SH 11 overlap | ||
| 0.7 | 1.1 | SH 11 east –Bailey | North end of SH 11 overlap | ||
| | 1.7 | 2.7 | SH 121 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
Business State Highway 121-H | |
|---|---|
| Location | Dallas andDenton counties |
| Length | 8.486 mi[20] (13.657 km) |
| Existed | 1999[20]–present |
Business State Highway 121-H (Bus. SH 121-H) is a business route of SH 121 that serves the town ofLewisville. The highway was designated in 1999 when SH 121 was re-routed around the city.
Bus. SH 121-H begins at an interchange with SH 121/Sam Rayburn Tollway inCoppell. The highway runs northeast through industrial areas of Lewisville and turns to the north at an interchange withFM 3040 (Round Grove Road)/Denton Tap Road. Bus. North of here, SH 121-H runs by many residential areas before meetingI-35E. North of I-35E, the highway runs just south of the city's central business district and turns in a northeast direction. At Main Street, Bus. SH 121-H turns in a more eastern direction and crosses over theElm Fork Trinity River. The highway continues to run east and meetsFM 544 at an intersection before ending at an interchange with SH 121/Sam Rayburn Tollway.
| County | Location | mi[21] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas | Coppell | 0.0 | 0.0 | SH 121 /Sam Rayburn Tollway north | Interchange |
| Denton | Lewisville | 1.0 | 1.6 |  FM 3040 (Round Grove Road) / Denton Tap Road | Interchange |
| 3.3 | 5.3 | I-35E (Stemmons Freeway) | I-35E exit 450 | ||
| 4.5 | 7.2 | Main Street | FormerFM 1171 | ||
| 5.7 | 9.2 | Bridge over theElm Fork Trinity River | |||
| 7.7 | 12.4 | FM 544 east –Carrollton | |||
| 8.4 | 13.5 | SH 121 /Sam Rayburn Tollway north | Interchange | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
