Addison Airport Toll Tunnel

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Addison Airport Toll Tunnel
Addison airport tunnel.jpg
Toll plaza in 2008
Overview
Other nameAATT
Location Addison, Texas
Coordinates 32°58′07″N96°50′10″W / 32.9685°N 96.8360°W / 32.9685; -96.8360
RouteKeller Springs Road
Crosses Addison Airport
StartMidway Road
EndAddison Road
Operation
Work begunSeptember 1997 [1]
OpenedFebruary 18, 1999 [2]
Operator North Texas Tollway Authority
Toll$0.78 by electronic toll collection
$1.56 by mail invoice [3]
Technical
Length1,600 feet (490 m)
No. of lanes 2
Operating speed40 miles per hour (64 km/h)
Tunnel clearance 16 feet 6 inches (5.03 m)
Route map
Addison Airport Toll Tunnel

The Addison Airport Toll Tunnel (abbreviated AATT) is a road tunnel in Addison, Texas, that carries Keller Springs Road underneath Addison Airport. The tunnel is operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) and uses open road tolling through NTTA's TollTag system.

Contents

The tunnel connects the western and eastern barrier roads of Addison Airport (Midway Road and Addison Road, respectively). This provides a through passage between Dallas North Tollway and Interstate 35E, reducing traffic on Belt Line Road and Trinity Mills Road. [2]

The tunnel proper is 1,600 feet (488 m) long, while the entire roadway is 3,700 feet (1,128 m) long. [4] Tolls are collected at a plaza on the west side of the roadway. As of July 2025, two-axle vehicles are charged $0.78 if paying via electronic toll collection or $1.56 if paying by mail invoice; this price increases for each additional axle. [3]

History

Background

Construction of an airport in the newly incorporated town of Addison was proposed in 1956. [5] Construction of the 4,500-foot (1,400 m) primary runway would require severing Keller Springs Road, a major arterial route in northern Dallas County. This proposal created controversy, but after successful negotiations between Addison and the Dallas County Commissioners' Court, [6] the project was approved. Construction on Addison Airport began on March 16, 1957, [7] and the portion of Keller Springs Road crossing the new airport was demolished. [8]

Initially, motorists on Keller Springs could travel around the airport by detouring north on Westgrove Road. However, in 1969, the runway was extended further north to a total of 7,200 feet (2,200 m), and Westgrove was realigned so it no longer reached the airport's west side. The closest east-west roads to the airport were now Trinity Mills Road to the north and Belt Line Road to the south, which were 2 miles (3 km) apart. Traffic on Belt Line Road, which was closer to Keller Springs, began to surpass its design capacity by 10,000 vehicles per day. In 1984, Addison city manager Ron Whitehead began calling for the two sections of Keller Springs Road to be reconnected to relieve the traffic congestion. [9]

Construction

Addison Airport Toll Tunnel (logo).svg
Toll Texas Addison Airport Toll Tunnel.svg
Original (left) and current (right) signage

In 1991, the Texas Turnpike Authority (NTTA's predecessor) conducted a preliminary study for a tunnel connecting the segments. The study proposed a 75¢ toll and predicted that such a toll would raise $4.7 million per year. [10] [11] Dallas County voters approved $3 million in bonds to purchase the right-of-way, but the project did not proceed further due to high costs. [12]

In 1995, the project was revisited and approved. The tunnel was budgeted at $26.8 million, and the planned toll rate was reduced to 50¢. [12] [11] Tunneling work began in September 1997, [1] with a large roadheader, nicknamed "Big Mike", used to cut through the Austin Chalk under the airport. [11] The tunnel was completed and opened to the public on February 18, 1999. [2] [9] Within a year, daily traffic through the tunnel exceeded 10,000 vehicles. [9]

In 2007, NTTA announced the removal of its toll booths (both manned and coin-operated) at all of its facilities by 2010 in favor of a pay-by-mail system. AATT's toll booths were removed in 2009. [13]

Citations

  1. 1 2 Bensman, Todd (November 24, 1997). "Down under: Digger burrows toll path under Addison Airport". The Dallas Morning News . A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 21A.
  2. 1 2 3 Hartzel, Tony (February 15, 1999). "Toll tunnel to ease traffic strain - Road beneath Addison Airport opens to commuters Thursday". The Dallas Morning News . A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 23A.
  3. 1 2 "Toll Rates Effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027" (PDF). North Texas Tollway Authority . July 1, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Addison Airport Toll Tunnel (AATT)". North Texas Tollway Authority . Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  5. ↑ Bleakley 2017, pp. 2–5.
  6. ↑ Bleakley 2017, pp. 14–16.
  7. ↑ Bleakley 2017, p. 14.
  8. ↑ Bleakley 2017, p. 19.
  9. 1 2 3 Bleakley 2017, p. 74.
  10. ↑ Kelley, Chris (June 13, 1991). "2 toll booths to be reserved for TollTags Other drivers who try to use them to be fined". The Dallas Morning News . A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 34A.
  11. 1 2 3 Bleakley 2017, p. 75.
  12. 1 2 Howell, Curtis (January 12, 1995). "Addison ready to go underground - Design work to begin on airport tunnel". The Dallas Morning News . A. H. Belo Corporation. pp. 29A.
  13. ↑ "NTTA ditches booths". Quick . A. H. Belo Corporation. August 16, 2007. p. 7.

Bibliography

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