| SH 114 | |||
| Get started | Irving | ||
| End | Morton | ||
| Length | 394 mi | ||
| Length | 635 km | ||
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According to existingcountries.com, State Route 114, commonly known as State Highway 114 or SH 114 is a state route in the US state of Texas. The road runs from Irving in the Dalls-Fort Worth Metroplex to Griffith on the New Mexico border. In Dallas, the road forms a freeway, the Carpenter Freeway, beyond it is an east-west route through the prairies, and often double-numbered with other roads. The route is 635 kilometers long.
Travel directions
Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
SH 114 through Dallas-Fort Worth.
The highway begins in eastern Irving, a large suburb of Dallas. This is where SR-114 turns off the SR-183 or Airport Freeway, which runs to Fort Worth. Together with the SR-12, the highways form a triangle junction, containing a stadium. The SR-114 has 2×2 lanes, and there are Frontage Roads. One passes through Irving, a city of 202,000 inhabitants. In Irving is a suburban office park with some high-rise buildings. Further on, the road widens to 2×3 lanes. There are many office parks in this area. One then crosses the George Bush Turnpike, a partial beltway through the northern suburbs of Dallas. One then passes by the airport of Dallas, the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. It intersects the International Parkway, the toll road that runs right through the airport, and SR-121, the highway to Fort Worth. In Grapevine, SR-114 branches off from SR-121 and heads northwest, where freeway status soon ends. However, the road is still grade separated with 2×3 lanes. In Roanoke, the SR-170 or Alliance Gateway Freeway turns off, leaving only the Frontage Roads. SR-114 continues as Frontage Road, without a highway in the median strip.
Northern Texas
After the Texas Motor Speedway, one leaves the conurbation, and at Rhome one crosses US 287, which leads to Wichita Falls and Amarillo. In Bridgeport, the road joins US 380 to Jacksboro, where US 380 continues to Brownfield, passing between all major cities. SR-114 runs through the prairies through sparsely populated areas. The road here still has a reasonably through function, but is not busy. In Seymour you cross the US 183, that of Austinto Vernon in the north. The road is then double-numbered for the next 250 kilometers with US 82, directly to Lubbock. This road is well developed, often with 2×2 lanes. From Ralls, US 62 also joins from Childress. From the center of Lubbock, a major city in western Texas, SR-114 takes on a unique route again, leading through the High Plains directly to the New Mexico border at Griffith.
Double numbering with other roads
SH 114 frequently coincides with US Highways. The length of SH 114 which forms a stand-alone route is quite limited. In particular, a long stretch between Seymour and Lubbock is double-numbered with US 82.
- Bridgeport – Jacksboro: US 380 (43 km)
- Jacksboro – Jermyn: US 281 (11 km)
- Seymour – Ralls: US 82 (208km)
- Ralls – Lubbock: US 62 & US 82 (51 km)
History
The SH 114 (Carpenter Freeway) through Las Colinas.
According to anycountyprivateschools.com, SH 114 was added to the planned network of state highways in Texas in 1926 as an east-west route from Dallas to Rhome. In 1933, the road was extended west to Bridgeport, but was not open until 1939, extending the route from Bridgeport to Sunset. In 1976 and 1977, SH 114 was extended much west to the New Mexico border, creating a long east-west route through north and northwest Texas.
Construction of the freeway
SH 114 had been planned as a freeway in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since the early 1950s, and the route appeared on maps in 1957 around Irving. The construction of SH 114 can be divided into separate eras. In the early 1970s, DFW Airport was under construction, and in addition to SH 183 (Airport Freeway), a highway was needed to the north and the suburbs northwest of the airport. The eastern portion of SH 114 opened to traffic in stages in 1971 and 1973. The Grapevine section opened in 1988, but the rest around Trophy Club did not open to traffic until SH 170 until between 2002 and 2006. The interchange with SH 170 was constructed between 2011 and 2013.
Opening history
| from | nasty | length | date |
| SH 183 | Northwest Highway | 6.3 km | 00-00-1971 |
| Northwest Highway | SH 121 | 10.1 km | 00-00-1973 |
| Dove Road | Kirkwood Boulevard | 1.5 km | 00-00-1985? |
| SH 121 | Southlake Boulevard | 4.5 km | 00-00-1988 |
| Precinct Line Road | SH 170 | 2.0 km | 00-00-2002 |
| Southlake Boulevard | Dove Road | 6.8 km | 00-00-2004 |
| Kirkwood Boulevard | Precinct Line Road | 1.6 km | 00-00-2006 |
DFW Connector
The ‘DFW Connector’ in Grapevine.
The DFW Connector was a project to widen SH 114/121 on the north side of DFW International Airport. The highway has been widened from 2×4 lanes to a maximum of 18 lanes, including 2×3 express lanes. In August 2013, the general purpose lanes were ready, on 1 April 2014 the toll lanes in the middle of the highway opened to traffic, first toll-free, but since 7 July 2014 with variable toll rates. In the first month, 150,000 motorists used the express lanes (5,000 per day).
Midtown Express
The Midtown Express project.
Due to the strong growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, SH 114 became increasingly congested. The highway connects major work centers in northwest Dallas, the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and the major cities of Fort Worth and Irving. Traffic volumes will rise sharply until 2030. This requires major improvement projects. A study has been carried out for this. The study area included SH 114 between SH 183 in Dallas and SH 121 on the north side of DFW Airport. The project originally included only SH 183 and was later expanded to include SH 114 and Loop 12 and has been called ‘Midtown Express’ since 2014.
The extension of SH 114 is planned in two phases. The interim configuration includes one managed lane per direction, plus 2×2 general purpose lanes and frontage roads per direction between Rochelle Boulevard and the President George Bush Turnpike, and 2×3 or 4+3 lanes plus one managed lane westbound between the Bush Turnpike and SH 121. No ultimate configuration has yet been established for SH 114 as it was not originally part of the project. The ‘Midtown Express’ project includes 42 kilometers of highway, and in addition to SH 114, also includes SH 183 and Loop 12, which will also include toll lanes.
The land acquisition was largely completed in 2013. Construction began on March 5, 2015 although a groundbreaking was also held on May 8, 2015. On November 4, 2017, the express lanes on SH 114 opened .
Widening in Denton County
In 2017, SH 114 in southern Denton County was widened from 2×2 to 2×3 lanes between Kirkwood Boulevard and the interchange with SH 170 over a length of 4 kilometers. This connected with the already 2×3 lane portion in Tarrant County. In 2013, 72,000 vehicles drove daily on this section. By 2018, this had increased to 97,000 vehicles per day.
Future
Denton County Freeway Extension
It is planned to extend SH 114 as a 2×3 lane highway and frontage roads from US 377 to I-35W. This part is about 5 kilometers long, the frontage roads already exist on this section, with space between the two frontage roads to build the motorway.
Between Texas Motor Speedway and US 81/287 at Rhome, the road was doubled to 2×2 lanes in 2015, but not prepared here for later expansion into a highway. A possible interchange with I-35W at Texas Motor Speedway was not yet included in the scope of this project.
Toll
The express lanes of the DFW Connector at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport are subject to a toll charge. There are also toll-free lanes here. Tolls also have to be paid on the express lanes in Irving.
Traffic intensities
The data below concerns intensities after the relevant exit, and only includes the highway section of SH 114.
| Exit | Location | 2007 | 2012 | 2016 |
| – | Irving | 135,000 | 125,000 | 85,000 |
| – | Irving | 101,000 | 71,000 | 116,000 |
| – | Irving | 112,000 | 110,000 | 131,000 |
| – | Irving | 186,000 | 186,000 | 203,000 |
| – | grapevine | 108,000 | 99,000 | 119,000 |
| – | Trophy Club | 35,000 | 34,000 | 45,000 |
Lane Configuration
This is only around the highway section in the Dallas area.
| from | nasty | Lanes | comments |
| SH 183 | Riverside Drive | 2×2 | Irving |
| Riverside Drive | Spur 348 | 2+1+1+2 | express lanes |
| Spur 348 | SH 121 | 3+1+3 | one way express lane |
| SH 121 | SH 121 | 6+2+2+6 | DFW Connector |
| SH 121 | SH 170 | 2×3 |
