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Loop 12 Walton Walker Blvd
           
Page Created
 11-Dec-2007
Last Updated
 11-Dec-2007
Page Status
Updates planned
Future Additions
History, photos, resources
Looking north at Davis Street, 27-Oct-2007

Named forWalton H. Walker (1889-1950), Lieutenent General and commander of the Eighth Army in Korea
Native of Belton, TX
Named by Dallas County Commissioners Court, Jan 15, 1951, shortly after Walker's death in an automobile accident in Korea in December 1950
Future workWidening, addition of HOT lanes
Quick Info Loop 12 west forms a large section of the western edge of the Dallas freeway loop. It was among the last freeways of the original Dallas plan to be completed; I have not been able to pinpoint the completion date, but a two-mile section south of I-30 was completed very roughly circa 1980. Most of Loop 12, however, exhibits 1960s design standards and is lacking in capacity. The interchanges with TX 183, TX 114, and I-30 are all seriously substandard. The Trinity River bridge features a high clearance for the Trinity waterway barge canal, which was never built. A much-needed modernization and expansion is planned, but it won't occur anytime soon due to funding issues.

Historical information about the Loop 12 freeway has been difficult to find. As of September 1976, TxDOT had just awarded a contract to upgrade the last remaining non-freeway section, a two-lane road from I-30 to Jefferson, to a four-lane divided highway, but not a freeway. The freeway appears to have been completed between 1977 and 1984, which happens to be the period when there is no index for the Dallas Morning News.

The freeway main lanes from I-30 to the railroad tracks north of route 356, which includes the Trinity River bridge, opened on April 13, 1976.

The western arc of Loop 12 was named Walton Walker Blvd in 1951, well before the route was designated as a freeway. The name Walton Walker has been retained for the freeway.

The Trinity River bridge was built with a 52-foot clearance over the average river level in anticipation of the construction of the Trinity waterway navigable barge canal. The construction contract for the Loop 12 bridge was awarded in January 1973, and on March 13, 1973, voters rejected a $150 million bond issue which would have covered the local share of the cost of the barge canal. The Trinity waterway navigation canal project was on life support after the election, and dead by the late 1970s. So, the extra clearance and long span of the bridge turned out to be a waste of money.

More historical information about Loop 12 west will be added in the future.