Chisholm Trail Parkway - Fort Worth, Texas - 2018/11/13

Drivelapse video of the Chisholm Trail Parkway starting at US-67 in Cleburne, Texas and ending on I-35W after passing through Downtown Fort Worth and briefly following Interstate 30

[@RoadsofEuropeverreme]

A bit further south, in Mexico, two-lane tollways are the norm, and there's usually no median barrier. I like the landscaping, it's often disregarded but it adds so much to the driving experience.

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

I think the CTP might be the most aesthetically pleasing tollway in DFW. Thanks for watching.

[@chuck32504]

Life before than Pandemic!!! We so miss it!

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

me too.

[@BrandonClaridge]

That portion of the Chisholm Trail Parkway you described as having substandard vertical geometry (at 6:12) used to have a speed limit of only 50 MPH when it first opened; basically the entire section of the CTP from Arborlawn to I-30 had this abnormally-slow speed limit. Whenever I drove that section of highway (prior to NTTA raising the speed limit to 60 MPH), no one actually went 50 MPH, and you really had to consciously monitor your speed as it was really easy to drive 10 MPH or more over the speed limit. Also, the approach to downtown Fort Worth on the northbound CTP (starting at 6:32) is probably the best view of downtown on Fort Worth's freeway and tollway network, in my opinion, especially as there are no skyscrapers or tall buildings to obstruct the view (Fort Worth does not seem to have this problem, unlike coming into downtown Dallas from the north where both I-35E and especially US 75 are lined with skyscrapers). The approach to downtown Dallas from the west (I-30) or south (I-45) is still better, given the greater vertical height of their skyline.

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

I agree. I think the CTP has the best approach to Downtown Fort Worth from any freeway.

[@MrSniperFromMars]

That was a neat little parkway, and that stack was a proper-Texas sized one! Thanks for sharing.

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

texas never disappoints.

[@pepsifan8504]

I think the reason that most parts of the toll road were constructed as a two lane highway because in the original planing the traffic in the area did not warrant a four lane highway

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

I think that you are right. I drove this highway during the early part of rush hour, so it probably doesn't get too much busier than that.

[@FreewayBrent]

Thanks for the tour; I had no idea this nice parkway even existed!

[@GamingWithLondon]

I kinda started to realize it existed thanks to the interchange at I-30 to where construction was going on for a couple of years.

[@donavanjohnson409]

The interstate 20/ Chisholm trail parkway interchange is so neat

[@jcorral2]

... hello three years later, was wondering if any part of the Chisholm Trail is high above on a stack, like a high five or something going to drive it from Fort Worth down to San Antonio and I like to stay low to the ground as possible?

[@compdude100]

The two-lane section of the parkway reminded me of I-93 in the Franconia notch and the 2+1 roads in Sweden, especially in the spots where there are passing lanes. Also, many two-lane freeways don't have a median barrier, so it's quite unique and different from many super twos. Oh, and every urban freeway should have a landscaped median!

[@CarRide]

That was fun to watch! Thank for the video! Car rides and drives are an awesome way to explore new places, aren't they?

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

I am quite partial to a good car ride.

[@bfg9000d1]

Important notes for any future folks that want to cover this toll road. The highway was going to be called the Southwest Parkway aka Highway 121. But name suggestions and a vote came to the decision to call it the current CTP name. The original idea of the project was being verbally tossed around back in the late 1950's. The project didn't become a serious planning/revolving idea until the 1970's. Section 6 as a two-lane road is strictly temporary. In fact, when you drive on the southbound side you are on the northbound lanes and the road is slanted as such, which is the standard left to right slant. Also, the southbound on and off-ramps are designed to accommodate the future southbound lanes when they get built. According to the lead construction person in charge at the time. They said "they made more accommodations for the anticipated expansion of the future southbound lanes than any other highway they have done in the past." Also, the interchange, sections 5 and 6 are in phase one mode. The final configuration would be 6 lanes north to south and the missing connector ramps complete. The initial given name for the interchange called by the NTTA is the spaghetti bowl. Also, the jump over at the Davidson rail yard and Hulen almost jeopardized the entire project from being built. Coordination between all parties involved was problematic. What seem like sheer luck eventually worked its way out.. The NTTA tossed around at a couple of meetings they would like to eventually see all 30 miles of the parkway lit. Of course, talking and doing are two different things. The parkway theme was decided by the citizens of Fort Worth to take an Art Deco theme, which followed the T&P Building design look.. There was deep concern by picking a futuristic design right now that later it could become dated looking and thus look bad. So it was decided to go with a tried and true classic look. Which was Art Deco. The guard rails are rust color looking to co-inside with the CTP trail name. Originally TXDot was going to build the project but due to many broken promises and money that would be allocated to the project was move towards more pressing projects, The local powers that be got fed up and approach the NTTA about building the CTP which would be the first NTTA toll road in Tarrant and Johnson County at the time. Finally, there were huge amounts of pressure put on the construction company's by the NTTA not to do anything that would cause the project to get delayed in any way.

[@BrandonClaridge]

I also remember some of the original plans called for the first phase of the then-Southwest Parkway (aka SH-121T) to end at Altamesa Boulevard/Dirks Road as well. I believe the Chisholm Trail Parkway name, at that time, only applied to the section of the highway between Altamesa and Cleburne, though I don't recall for sure (the section from Altamesa to downtown was the Southwest Parkway/121T); notice that the original Southwest Parkway segment has more extensive decoration as well. Eventually NTTA assigned the Chisholm Trail Parkway name to cover the entire corridor, managed to get all the phases combined into a single project, and opened practically the entire CTP (except for the north end from Montgomery to I-30) all at once in 2014. Some of the corridor, however, has yet to been built out to its ultimate state. This would include the interchange between the CTP, I-20, and SH-183, which will have 6 ramps added: the 4 remaining connectors between CTP and I-20, as well as a NB CTP-to-WB 183 offramp, and a EB 183-to-SB CTP onramp. In addition to the future widening of the 2-to-3 lane highway in Johnson County and a future 4-ramp direct connector interchange with US-67, notice that the bridges north of McPherson up to Altamesa (eg. 4:49) have room for an additional northbound lane.

[@keokiracerhalsteren]

7:53 Jesus, thats a dangerous left exit, I hope thats a temporary one

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

There used to be a left entrance right before that left exit too. To my knowledge, it wasn't removed as part of this project.

[@BrandonClaridge]

@@AsphaltPlanet1 You are correct. That left entrance from Weatherford Street in downtown Fort Worth was removed over a decade ago (it had to be in the mid-to-late 2000s) when TxDOT re-striped northbound I-35W to 3 lanes through the I-35W/US-377/SH-121 interchange. Prior to this, 2 lanes went over the bridge at 7:52 and I believe the third lane did not start until the now-removed ramp merged with northbound I-35W. Today, traffic leaving downtown Fort Worth on Weatherford Street has to make the connection with the northbound I-35W general purpose lanes by using the frontage roads. They also have the option to use the direct connector to the tolled express lanes for longer trips on northbound I-35W (to I-820 and points north) if they wish to pay. That left exit at Pharr Street (and an associated left entrance on the southbound side) will be removed when work begins on the ultimate phase of the I-35W North Tarrant Express project, which will include a massive new interchange at I-35W and SH-121.

[@McIntosh1581]

Toll 49 in Tyler is currently a two-lane highway as well.

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

I’ve heard that before, but I’ve never driven it.

[@GamingWithLondon]

Having a two-lane highway especially a tollway isn't pretty good to begin with.

[@chuy4750]

great vid

[@nothingatall5037]

Did you record this before the lockdown?

[@BrandonClaridge]

The title of the video says it was recorded in November 2018.

[@dontgetlost4078]

How was the fee for that trip?

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

i was driving a rental car, and I drove a bunch of toll roads while in Texas, so all of my toll charges just got lumped onto my credit card at the end of the trip, so I'm not sure how much this particular journey cost me.

[@chrisengrace]

@@AsphaltPlanet1 I believe that would be $6.39 with TollTag

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

@@chrisengracethanks.

[@coreysmith8560]

Lots of massive interchanges

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

there is never a shortage of huge interchanges in Texas.

[@kevinblack16]

Happen to notice the cop at the top of the ramp 1:27? :D Keep it up.

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

no i didn't notice that. Thanks, I have more to release in the coming weeks.

[@amayasnep]

A tip: try raising the exposure of your videos. They seem a bit darker than they should.

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

I adjust the exposure for all of my videos before they are uploaded. Sometimes the darkness just depends on the contrast ratio of the end users viewing screen. This video looks pretty good on my screens.

[@dotdriveontransportation1687]

I have refilmed this road, I just didn't edit it yet

[@clydemckinney5116]

CTP In Fort Worth Texas 🤠💰➕🤠

[@jaricjohnson6448]

A one laned two way freeway? Didnt think that would exist.

[@keokiracerhalsteren]

Its called a *super-two* and imo theyre dumb

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

Super-Two freeways are relatively common in some places. There are several of them in eastern Canada for example.

[@jaricjohnson6448]

Well this is new.

[@thevultrantransituniverse1487]

You seem to like techno musics.

[@AsphaltPlanet1]

I think techno fits well with driving videos.

[@GamingWithLondon]

With parkways and freeways like these, I can tell people wanna drive so bad to explore these in person even though driving is a huge responsibility.