TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

DFW International Airport | Major highways | Commuter and light rail | Railways

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
The world's third-busiest airport is not only the economic engine of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, but a driving force that continues to shape business success in Irving.

Thanks to DFW Airport, Irving is three hours from either coast, nine hours from London, and 13 hours from Tokyo -- plus the five to fifteen minutes it takes to drive to the airport from virtually anywhere in the city.

DFW Airport offers nearly 2,000 flights each day, with non-stop service to 135 domestic and 37 international destinations.

The airport recently completed its $2.7 billion Capital Development Program, which added:

• International Terminal D, which offers passengers the convenience of 28 departure gates, 99 ticketing stations, an 8,100-vehicle parking garage, and a U.S. Customs facility that can process 2,800 passengers each hour.
• Skylink, a high-speed transit system to link DFW's terminals.
• The Grand Hyatt Hotel, a luxury hotel with 298 guest rooms and 17,100 square feet of meeting space, built into International Terminal D.

DFW Airport is also home to an impressive global distribution center with 56 cargo carriers, 2.6 million square feet of cargo facilities and a foreign trade zone with direct highway access.

Major highways
Five highways link Irving to North Texas and major trade routes throughout North America -- and give Irving employers excellent access to the 2.7 million-person workforce that lives within a 30-minute commute of the city.

Irving has easy access to four interstates, including I-35, the NAFTA Superhighway.

And Irving's highway network continues to grow. Expansion plans are in the works for:

• SH 161/George Bush Turnpike. This recently completed roadway is Irving's most important link to the highly educated employment base in Dallas' northern suburbs.
• Within a few years, SH 161 will be extended south to connect with I-30 and I-20. The City of Irving understands that infrastructure lays the foundation for growth, and has worked to ensure that western Irving will be well supported when SH 161 is extended. The City has:
  • Worked with TxDOT to create access ramps
  • Designed a transportation grid for the area
  • Planned for new roadways
  • Begun extending or improving existing roads nearby
  • Made plans, in conjunction with the Fort Worth Transit Authority, to add a second set of tracks for the Trinity Railway Express.
• SH 183/West Fork Corridor. SH 183 is a major east-west freeway that connects Irving to Dallas and Fort Worth. The City of Irving is working closely with the TxDOT to plan improvements to SH 183 and nearby east-west routes. These will include:
  • Widening SH 183 from six to eight general-purpose lanes and adding a tolled HOV system.
  • Improving major east-west arteries, including Irving Boulevard, Rock Island Road, Trinity Boulevard and Hunter Ferrell Road.
  • Adding a second double track for the Trinity Railway Express.
  • Adding a new reliever roadway west of Loop 12 and a tollway east of Loop 12, with provisions to extend it west to Fort Worth.

Commuter and light rail

The Trinity Railway Express (TRE)
A cooperative service of the Fort Worth Transit Authority and Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the Trinity Railway Express is a commuter rail line that connects to Dallas and Forth Worth's central business districts.

The TRE serves Irving residents with stations in the Downtown Heritage District and West Irving. The train, with its distinctive Lone Star design, is a popular way to travel to the sports venues and entertainment districts in both cities.

DFW Airport is a short trip by rail from Irving, thanks to the TRE and the airport's shuttle service, which meet at the line's CentrePort station, just one stop west of Irving.

Light rail
By 2011, Irving will be served by a Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail line that will run from Downtown Dallas to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

While locations are not yet firm, plans call for stations at the University of Dallas, the Las Colinas Urban Center, North Lake College and Belt Line Road north of SH 161. A station may be added at Texas Stadium in a subsequent phase.

An Urban Center station would connect with Las Colinas' Area Personal Transit (APT) system, a "monorail" that connects several Urban Center buildings and the shops and restaurants along the Mandalay Canal.

Plans call for the light-rail route to end at the north entrance of DFW Airport, with a spur planned to take riders from the Urban Center directly into the airport, stopping at a station near DFW Airport's new International Terminal D. Both are planned for completion by 2013.

The City of Irving made an unprecedented $60 million commitment to bring the light-rail line through Irving. It participated in a land-planning effort that called for transit-oriented development, and expedited roadway construction along its route to open land for development. The result: a boom in development along the line in the Las Colinas Urban Center, where more than 2,000 upscale lofts and apartments in six projects are open, under construction or planned.

Railways
No shipping hub is complete without railway service, and Irving is no exception. The city is served by short-line railroad Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad and major railroads Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific.