Interstate 35W, an Interstate Highway, is the western half of Interstate 35 where it splits to serve the Dallas/Fort Worthmetropolitan area. I-35 splits into two branch routes, I-35W and I-35E at Hillsboro. I-35W runs north for, 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. Historically, other interstates were given directional suffixes. On every other interstate, the directional suffixes were phased out by giving the route a loop or spur designation. In the case of I-35, since both branches return to a unified interstate beyond the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, the AASHTO committees allowed the suffixes to remain. I-35 also splits into I-35E and I-35W in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota. During the 1970s, billboards existed on I-35 encouraging travelers to take the faster and shorter I-35W route.
Route description
Interstate 35 splits into two separately named interstate highways just north of Hillsboro, Texas. The routes fork to the northwest and northeast, with Interstate 35W taking the northwest route and Interstate 35E travelling off to the northeast toward Dallas. I-35W travels northwest past the Hillsboro airport through generally rolling farm and ranchlands. It then intersects with US Route 67 on the west side of Alvarado. It continues northwest into the southern edge of Fort Worth. At an intersection with State Highway 174 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 Interstate 20. The route continues north, reaching downtown Fort Worth. Here it reaches intersections with Interstate 30, U.S. Highway 287, and U.S. Highway 377. I-35W travels north away from downtown concurrent with US 287, next intersecting Interstate 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 U.S. Highway 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 Interstate 35, which continues off to the north.
History
When first designated, I-35W & I-35E were the only "suffixed" highways in Texas. Subsequently, I-69W, I-69E, and I-69C have been designated.
Future
In May 2014, construction began to build 2 laned express lanes from the US-287/SH-280 interchange to North Tarrant Parkway. On August 2018, construction was completed.
