Loop 12 is a state highway that runs mostly within the city limits of Dallas, Texas. The western segment of the loop is named after General Walton Walker, who served and died in South Korea. During the 1950s and 1960s, Loop 12 was the outer beltway in the Dallas area, having since been supplanted by Interstate 635 (I-635), which is itself being supplanted by the President George Bush Turnpike (SH 190). Loop 12 is, however, the only state highway in Dallas that forms a complete loop (Belt Line Road is also a complete loop but is not a state road except for a stretch as part of Farm to Market Road 1382).
Route description
Starting in the east at I-30, Loop 12 goes north as Buckner Boulevard, following surface streets past White Rock Lake. Just north of White Rock Lake, it intersects Spur 244[2] and becomes Northwest Highway to the west; because there is an eastern and a western segment to this part of the road, at certain points the road signs read "East Northwest Highway". It continues west along surface streets over Central Expressway (U.S. Highway 75 (Texas), US 75) and the Dallas North Tollway and moves north of Bachman Lake and Dallas Love Field.
After crossing I-35E, Loop 12 moves south as a freeway, locally known as Walton Walker Boulevard, passing where Texas Stadium once sat at the interchanges with State Highway 114 (SH 114) and SH 183. The segment between I-35E (Stemmons Freeway) and Spur 408 is the only portion of Loop 12 that is freeway. It is also the only portion that leaves the Dallas city limits, as it runs through the eastern portion of Irving between where the road crosses the Elm Fork of the Trinity River (northern boundary, just north of the former site of Texas Stadium) and where it crosses the West Fork Trinity River (southern boundary).
Between I-35E and SH 183, Loop 12 has two tolled express lanes, one in each direction. These lanes connect the express lanes on SH 183 to those on I-35E and I-635.[3]
After intersecting I-30 for the second time, Loop 12 continues south, joining surface streets again east of Mountain Creek Lake at Mountain Creek Parkway and Patriot Parkway (or Spur 408, which provides a southwesterly freeway link to I-20). It continues to the southeast, turning east along Ledbetter Drive, just north of Dallas Executive Airport (formerly Red Bird Airport). It continues east, crossing US 67, I-35E for the second time, and I-45. At the intersection with US 175 and Murdock Road, Loop 12 turns north again as Buckner Boulevard all the way back to I-30. The portion between Bonnie View Rd. and US 175 is also known as Great Trinity Forest Way, as it passes across an undeveloped portion of the Trinity River and the Trinity River Audubon Center.
History
Loop 12 was designated on September 26, 1939, from US 175 across US 80 to the Buckner Orphans Home, and across US 67 to SH 114 at White Rock Lake as a renumbering of SH 40 Bypass. On April 23, 1942, Loop 12 was extended from US 175 to US 75. On August 3, 1943, Loop 12 was extended westward and northward to SH 183. On October 6, 1943, Loop 12 was extended northward and eastward back to SH 114 at White Rock Lake. On January 7, 1971, Loop 12 was rerouted on Spur 348 and part of the old location of SH 114; the rest of the old location of SH 114 became new Spur 348, and the old route of Loop 12 became Spur 482.
Major intersections
The entire route is in Dallas County.
| Location | mi[4] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 0.0 | 0.0 | South Polk Street | Interchange | |
| 0.4 | 0.64 |  US 67 (Marvin D. Love Freeway) | Interchange | ||
| 3.0 | 4.8 | Ledbetter Drive / Cockrell Hill Road | Interchange; access from Cockrell Hill Road to Loop 12 is via Exchange Service Road | ||
| 5.5 | 8.9 |    Spur 408 (Patriot Parkway) to I-20 / Illinois Avenue / Mountain Creek Parkway | Interchange; south (counterclockwise) end of freeway; northbound access to Spur 408 is indirect via Illinois Avenue | ||
| 6.6 | 10.6 | Keeneland Parkway | |||
| 7.4 | 11.9 |  SH 180 (Davis Street) / Jefferson Boulevard | State Highway 180 known as Davis Street; SH 180 is former US 80 | ||
| 8.6 | 13.8 |  I-30 – Dallas, Fort Worth | Exit 38 on I-30 (Tom Landry Freeway) | ||
| 9.0 | 14.5 | Frontage Road | Southbound (counterclockwise) exit and northbound (clockwise) exit | ||
| 9.6 | 15.4 | Singleton Boulevard | |||
| Irving | 11.1 | 17.9 | Shady Grove Road | ||
| 11.6 | 18.7 |  SH 356 / Irving Boulevard | |||
| 12.7 | 20.4 | Union Bower Road | |||
| 13.2 | 21.2 | Grauwyler Road | |||
| 13.7 | 22.0 |  SH 183 – Fort Worth, Dallas | Airport Freeway; no southbound (counterclockwise) access to SH 183 east | ||
| 14.3 | 23.0 |   SH 114 – DFW Airport, Grapevine | John W. Carpenter Freeway | ||
| Dallas | 15.8 | 25.4 |   I-35E east (US 77) | Exits 436A–B on I-35E (Stemmons Freeway); north (clockwise) end of freeway | |
  Spur 348 west (Northwest Highway) | Eastern terminus of Spur 348 | ||||
| 16.2 | 26.1 | I-35E (US 77) | Exits 436A-B on I-35E (Stemmons Freeway) | ||
| 16.7– 17.0 | 26.9– 27.4 |  Spur 482 (Storey Lane) – Irving | Interchange | ||
 Loop 354 (Harry Hines Boulevard) | Interchange | ||||
| 18.7 | 30.1 | Marsh Lane / Lemmon Avenue | Interchange | ||
| 21.3 | 34.3 |  Dallas North Tollway | |||
| University Park–Dallas line | 21.8 | 35.1 |   SH 289 north (Preston Road) | Southern terminus of SH 289 | |
| Dallas | 23.7 | 38.1 |  US 75 | Exit 5A on US 75 (North Central Expressway) | |
| 24.8 | 39.9 | Skillman Street | Interchange | ||
| 27.0 | 43.5 |   Spur 244 east (Northwest Highway) – Garland | |||
| 27.1 | 43.6 | East Lawther Drive | Interchange; southbound (clockwise) exit and northbound (counterclockwise) entrance | ||
| 27.5 | 44.3 | Peavy Road / Mockingbird Lane | Interchange | ||
| 29.2 | 47.0 |  SH 78 (Garland Road) | |||
| 30.6 | 49.2 | Ferguson Road | Interchange | ||
| 32.0 | 51.5 |   To I-30 (US 67) / US 80 | Exit 53A on I-30 (R.L. Thornton Freeway); access via frontage roads | ||
| 34.0 | 54.7 | Military Parkway | Interchange | ||
| 34.3 | 55.2 |  SH 352 (Scyene Road) | Interchange | ||
| 37.9 | 61.0 |  US 175 (C.F. Hawn Freeway) | Interchange | ||
| 41.5 | 66.8 | Service Road | Interchange | ||
| 41.8 | 67.3 |  SH 310 | Interchange with S.M. Wright Freeway | ||
| 42.2 | 67.9 |  I-45 – Houston, Dallas, McKinney | Exit 279 on I-45 (Julius Schepps Freeway) | ||
| 44.6 | 71.8 |   SH 342 south (Lancaster Road) – Lancaster | Northern terminus of SH 342 | ||
| 46.6 | 75.0 | I-35E (R.L. Thornton Freeway / US 77) – Waxahachie, Dallas | Exit 421 on I-35E | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
Gallery
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Intersection of Loop 12 with US 75 -
Texas State Highway 289 Preston Road intersection Loop 12 Northwest Highway -
Loop 12 Northwest Highway at Dallas North Tollway toward Douglas Ave -
Loop 12 Northwest Highway at Dallas North Tollway toward Hathaway St
See also
References
- ^ a b Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway Loop No. 12". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
- ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway Spur No. 244". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation.
- ^ "State Loop 12: TEXpress Lanes fact sheet" (PDF). TEXpress Lanes. Texas Department of Transportation.
- ^ Google (June 7, 2019). "Texas State Highway Loop 12" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
External links
Media related to Texas State Highway Loop 12 at Wikimedia Commons
