The collaborative efforts of Murphy/Jahn and Werner Sobek Ingenieure have consistently focused on the exploration of technology toward the extension of urban ideals. The design of the NTTA Tollway system components afford the opportunity to take this exploration toward a more rarified exposition, as the exigencies of program and accommodation are minimal.

The toll canopies mounted on a long span truss are comprised of Teflon coated fiberglass fabric stretched between tapered steel spars. The fabric, with a 17 % translucence glows with a luminance proportional to the sun’s intensity. From dusk to dawn, the canopies are lighted with a range of colors to be coordinated with time, events, and promotions. The truss supports the cameras, directional lighting, VMS Lane Control, AVI antennae, and other technical installations, as well as the accessing catwalk. Pneumatic coin collection system runs in an underground utility trench. Each Main Lane Plaza will be integrated with a 6,000 sf administration building.

The ramp plazas will be of similar construction, but spanning only two or three lanes.

The North Texas Tollway Authority is chartered to accommodate and promote a regional transportation system. As such, they are in a unique position to establish through their design standards, an urban iconography that will express the dynamics of the region. In addressing these opportunities, and to insure a dynamic and evolving system, the construction of the canopies is modular, adaptable, renewable, as well as economical. It is conceived as an armature for evolving technology and regional expression.

The first Ramp Plaza at Gaylord Avenue started construction in December 2003, and the first Main Lane Plaza at Wycliffe Avenue MLP1 will be bid in spring 2004.