The City of Irving and its Economic Development Partnership are powerful advocates for Irving, working at the local, regional, state and national levels to keep the city’s transportation and transit infrastructure growing.

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 1,900 flights each day with non-stop service to 135 domestic and 37 international destinations.

The airport continues to grow: DFW expects to complete its $45 million terminal renovation program in early 2009. In 2005, the airport completed a $2.7 billion capital development program that added:

• International Terminal D, with 28 departure gates, 99 ticketing stations, an 8,100-vehicle parking garage, and a high-capacity U.S. Customs facility


• Skylink, a high-speed transit system linking DFW’s terminals


• The Grand Hyatt Hotel, a luxury hotel built into International Terminal D

DFW Airport is also home to an impressive global distribution center with 48 cargo carriers, more than 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 3.1 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.

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

• SH 161/George Bush Turnpike. This roadway is Irving’s most important link to the highly educated employment base in Dallas’ northern suburbs. Its extension south to I-20 is scheduled to open in 2010.


• SH 183. This major east-west freeway connects Irving to Dallas and Fort Worth. The City of Irving is working closely with TxDOT to plan improvements to SH 183 and nearby east-west routes.


• Loop 12/SH 114. Work will begin in early 2009 on bridge and highway improvements to accommodate DART’s Orange light-rail line and improve access to Texas Stadium.

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. To increase capacity on the TRE, a second double track is under construction.

The TRE serves Irving residents with stations in Heritage Crossing 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.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF)

Irving has partnered with the cities of Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Plano and Frisco to study the feasibility of creating a 29-mile commuter rail line on the existing BNSF tracks. The line would be a major link between Irving and the employee bases and business centers in Dallas/Fort Worth’s northern suburbs.

Light Rail

Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s Orange Line is scheduled to begin service in Irving by December 2011, on its way from Downtown Dallas to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which it is slated to reach by 2013.

Eight Irving stations are planned, including:

• The University of Dallas
• Lake Carolyn, in the Las Colinas Urban Center. This station will connect with Las Colinas’ Area Personal Transit (APT) system, a “monorail” that connects several Urban Center office buildings and the Mandalay Canal Walk.
• North Las Colinas
• Carpenter Ranch
• North Lake College
• Beltline
• Texas Stadium (future phase)
• South Las Colinas (future phase)

Plans call for the light-rail route to reach the north entrance of DFW Airport by 2013. It will enter a multi-modal station that is planned to accommodate a commuter rail line from Fort Worth and DFW Airport’s Skylink train.

Railways