The Dallas North Tollway — 1968
Head north, young man…
by Paula Bosse
The Dallas North Tollway opened in stages, as stretches were completed. The first bit of its 9.8 miles opened in February 1968, and it was fully open by June 1968. From downtown to LBJ. Am I crazy, or does that seem incredibly fast?
On its opening day, an ecstatic Texas Turnpike Authority official told reporters, “People love it to death.” Which is something you don’t hear said everyday about a toll road.
When one speaks of the tollway, one often muses to oneself, “Shouldn’t this thing be paid off by now?”
Here’s what the Texas Turnpike Authority assured taxpayers back then in that Summer of Love:
Like Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike, the Tollway was financed by the Texas Turnpike Authority through the sale of revenue bonds. And like the Turnpike, the Tollway will become a toll-free portion of the Texas Highway System when its bonds are retired.
Unbelievably, the DFW Turnpike DID become a “free” highway, but I think we all know that will never happen again. But, just for an amusing tidbit to toss around at your next smart cocktail party, here’s when that was supposed to happen (from the final paragraph of a very comprehensive Dallas Morning News overview of the history of the tollway):
If the traffic keeps going up and coincides with projections, the tollway may become part yours — as a Texas citizen — on Jan. 1, 2005. That’s when the last bond payment is due. (DMN, June 2, 1968)
I guess the important word there was “may.”
I don’t really have any nostalgia connected with the tollway, but I do kind of miss hurling a fistful of change at that basket.
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Sources & Notes
Dallas North Tollway brochure (1972) is from the Southwest Collection Maps, Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University — it can be downloaded here.
The very informative article referenced above is “Dallas North Tollway: A Long Road is Ending” by Jimmie Payne (Dallas Morning News, June 2, 1968).
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