Interstate 35W (Texas)

Interstate 35W
Map I-35W highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length	85.203 mi (137.121 km)
Existed	1959–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-35 / I-35E / US 77 near Hillsboro
Major intersections	US 67 in Alvarado I-20 in Fort Worth I-30 in Fort Worth US 287 in Fort Worth US 377 in Fort Worth I-820 in Fort Worth US 81 / US 287 in Fort Worth
North end	I-35 / I-35E / US 77 in Denton
Location
Country	United States
State	Texas
Counties	Hill, Johnson, Tarrant, Denton
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec
← I-35E → SH 35

Interstate 35W (I-35W), an Interstate Highway, is the western half of I-35 where it splits to serve the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. I-35 splits into two branch routes, I-35W and I-35E, at Hillsboro. I-35W runs north for 85.2 miles (137.1 km), carrying its own separate sequence of exit numbers. It runs through Fort Worth before rejoining with I-35E to reform I-35 in Denton. It is the more direct route for long-distance expressway traffic, as is noted on signs on I-35 leading into the I-35W/I-35E splits. During the 1970s, billboards existed on I-35 encouraging travelers to take the faster and shorter I-35W route.

During the early years of the Interstate Highway System, branching Interstates with directional suffixes, such as N, S, E, and W, were common nationwide. On every other Interstate nationwide, these directional suffixes have been phased out by redesignating the suffixed route numbers with a loop or spur route number designation (such as I-270 in Maryland, which was once I-70S) or, in some cases, were assigned a different route number (such as I-76, which was once I-80S). In the case of I-35 in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, since neither branch is clearly the main route and both branches return to a unified Interstate beyond the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, officials at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) have allowed the suffixes of E and W in Texas to remain in the present day. I-35 also splits into I-35E and I-35W in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, for similar reasons as the I-35 split in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

Route description

Aerial view of I-35W looking toward Denton

I-35 splits into two separately named Interstate Highways just north of Hillsboro, Texas. The routes fork to the northwest and northeast, with I-35W taking the northwest route and I-35E traveling off to the northeast toward Dallas. I-35W travels northwest past the Hillsboro airport through generally rolling farm and ranchlands. It then intersects with U.S. Highway 67 (US 67, East Henderson Street) on the west side of Alvarado. It continues northwest into the southern edge of Fort Worth. At an intersection with State Highway 174 (SH 174, Northeast Wilshire Boulevard), the route turns due north into greater Fort Worth, passing just west of Fort Worth Spinks Airport. Further north, the road reaches a five-level interchange with I-20. The route continues north, reaching downtown Fort Worth. Here, it reaches intersections with I-30, US 287, and US 377/SH 121 (East Belknap Street). I-35W travels north away from downtown concurrent with US 287, next intersecting I-820 just east of Fort Worth Meacham International Airport. Just north of this intersection, US 287 splits to the northwest, along with the southern terminus of US 81. I-35W then gradually shifts to the northeast, passing Fort Worth Alliance Airport and Texas Motor Speedway. It reaches its northern merging point on the southwest side of Denton, merging back together with I-35E to reform I-35, which continues off to the north. Like the I-35 split in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, I-35W uses its own exit numbers and mileposts, while I-35E continues those along I-35 between the city of Laredo and the Oklahoma state line.

History

When first designated, I-35W and I-35E were the only "suffixed" highways in Texas. Subsequently, I-69W, I-69E, and I-69C have been designated.

In May 2014, construction began to build two-lane express lanes from the US 287/SH 280 interchange to North Tarrant Parkway. On August 2018, construction was completed.

On the morning of February 11, 2021, a 133-car pileup occurred in Fort Worth due to cold and icy weather. The pileup, among the worst in American history, killed six people and injured 95 more. The crash occurred north of downtown Fort Worth and spanned 0.5 miles (0.80 km) between SH 183 (Northeast 28th Street) and Northside Drive. The elevated nature of this stretch of highway exacerbated the collision because elevated roadways can be exposed to freezing air from above and below, increasing the chances for ice to form on the roadway. The area had experienced 36 hours of freezing rain before the collision, and workers had pretreated the roadway with brine, but this did not prevent the disaster.

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Hill	​	0.0	0.0		I-35 south – Waco	I-35W south and I-35E merge into I-35
	​	0.4	0.64	370	US 77 north / Spur 579 – Hillsboro	Southbound exit only; exit number based on I-35 mileage
	​	0.5	0.80		I-35E north – Dallas	Northbound entrance only; I-35E exit 370B
	​	3.0	4.8	3	FM 2959 – Airport
	​	6.9	11.1	7	FM 934
	Itasca	8.0	12.9	8	FM 66 – Itasca
	​	12.5	20.1	12	FM 67 – Covington
Johnson	Grandview	15.5	24.9	15	FM 916 – Grandview, Maypearl
		16.6	26.7	16	SH 81 south / County Road 201 – Grandview
	​	17.4	28.0	17	FM 2258
	​	21.4	34.4	21	County Road 107
	Alvarado	24.3	39.1	24	I-35 BL north / FM 1706 / FM 3136 – Alvarado
		25.9	41.7	26A	US 67 – Cleburne, Dallas
		26.9	43.3	26B	I-35 BL south – Alvarado	Former southbound exit; now northbound entrance only
	​	27.2	43.8	27	County Road 707 / County Road 604
	Burleson	30.2	48.6	30	FM 917 – Joshua, Mansfield
		31.9	51.3	32	Bethesda Road
		34.5	55.5	35	Briaroaks Road / Hidden Creek Parkway	no direct northbound exit (signed at exit 32)
		36.7	59.1	36	FM 3391 (Renfro Street) / Hidden Creek Parkway	former Spur 50
Tarrant		37.7	60.7	37	SH 174 south (Wilshire Boulevard) – Cleburne	No direct northbound exit (signed at exit 36)
		37.9	61.0	38	Alsbury Boulevard / McAlister Road
	Fort Worth	38.5	62.0	39	FM 1187 (Rendon-Crowley Road) / McAlister Road	Access to Huguley Memorial Medical Center
		40.2	64.7	40	Garden Acres Drive
		41.3	66.5	41	Risinger Road
		42.2	67.9	42	Everman Parkway
		43.3	69.7	43	Sycamore School Road	no direct northbound exit (signed at exit 42)
		44.2	71.1	44	Altamesa Boulevard	No direct southbound exit
		44.8	72.1	45	I-20 – Abilene, Dallas	Signed as exits 45A (west) and 45B (east); I-20 exit 437
		45.6	73.4	46A	Felix Street	no direct northbound exit (signed at exit 44)
		46.0	74.0	46B	Seminary Drive
		47.0	75.6	47	Ripy Street
		47.6	76.6	48A	Berry Street – TCU
		48.6	78.2	48B	Morningside Drive	no direct northbound exit
		48.8	78.5	49A	Allen Avenue	no direct southbound exit (signed at exit 49B)
		49.4	79.5	49B	Bus. US 287 (Rosedale Street)	Access to John Peter Smith Hospital
		50.3	81.0	51	I-30 / US 287 south / US 377 south / SH 180 east (Lancaster Avenue) – Abilene, Dallas, Downtown Fort Worth	South end of US 287 / US 377 overlap; signed as exits 51A (I-30 west / US 377 south), 51B (SH 180 east), and 51C (I-30 east) northbound; no access from I-35W north to US 287 south or US 287 north to I-35E south; I-30 exit 15
		51.4	82.7	52A	Spur 280 – Downtown Fort Worth	Access to Fort Worth Central Station
		52.0	83.7	52B	US 377 north (Belknap Street) / SH 121 north – D/FW Airport	North end of US 377 overlap
		52.2	84.0	52C	Spur 347 west (Belknap Street)	no direct northbound exit
		52.3	84.2	52D	Pharr Street
		52.6	84.7	52E	Carver Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; access to Fort Worth Central Station
		53.1	85.5	53	Northside Drive / Yucca Avenue
		54.0	86.9	54A	SH 183 (28th Street)
		54.9	88.4	54B	Papurt Street	Former southbound exit and northbound entrance
		54.6	87.9	54C	33rd Street / Long Avenue	Former northbound exit and southbound entrance
				55	Frontage Road	Southbound exit and entrance
		55.5	89.3	56A	Meacham Boulevard
		56.6	91.1	56B	Beach Street	Northbound exit only
		56.4	90.8	—	I-820 Express east
		57.2	92.1	57A	I-820	Signed as exit 57 southbound; I-820 exit 16
				57B	Fossil Creek Boulevard	Northbound exit only
		58.3	93.8	58	Western Center Boulevard
		58.9	94.8	59	Basswood Boulevard
		60.0	96.6	60	US 81 north / US 287 north – Decatur, Wichita Falls	North end of US 287 overlap; no northbound entrance
		61.1	98.3	61	North Tarrant Parkway	no direct southbound exit (signed at exit 63)
		61.9	99.6	63	Heritage Trace Parkway
		63.7	102.5	64	Golden Triangle Boulevard / Keller-Hicks Road	Access to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance
		65.3	105.1	65	SH 170 east
		66.3	106.7	66	Westport Parkway
Tarrant–Denton county line		67.3	108.3	67	Alliance Boulevard
Denton		68.4	110.1	68	Eagle Parkway
	Fort Worth–Northlake line	70.4	113.3	70	SH 114 – Dallas, Bridgeport, DFW Airport
		71.2	114.6	72	Dale Earnhardt Way
	Northlake	73.8	118.8	74	FM 1171 – Flower Mound, Lewisville
	Argyle	76.6	123.3	76	FM 407 – Argyle, Justin
	Argyle–Denton line	78.9	127.0	79	Crawford Road / Robson Ranch Road
	Denton	82.0	132.0	82	FM 2449 – Ponder
		84.8	136.5	84	FM 1515 (Bonnie Brae Street) – Airport	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		85.0	136.8	85A	I-35E south – Dallas	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-35E exit 467
		85.1	137.0	85B	West Oak Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance, access to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton
		85.2	137.1		I-35 north – Oklahoma City	I-35 exit 467; I-35W north and I-35E merge into I-35
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Concurrency terminus       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access       Route transition

External links

• Interstate Guide: I-35E & I-35W (Texas)