I-635 East Project in Lake Highlands: Why Toll Lanes Are Closed

"It is gratifying to see that advocacy has become a completed project," District 10 Council Member Kathy Stewart said after TxDOT's ribbon-cutting for the I-635 East Project on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. "635 East is an example of what can happen when residents, community leaders and our transportation partners stay engaged and work together over many years."

Stewart gave much of the credit to District 10's LBJ NOW Initiative. The group was formed to push for improvements to the eastern stretch of I-635, the part that serves Lake Highlands, and it helped move the project into construction. The ribbon-cutting marked the end of construction. One piece of the new freeway is still waiting to open, and it's the piece with a price on it. For anyone in Lake Highlands who drives LBJ, the finished project is really two roads on two schedules.

A Corridor Built in Three Phases

The rebuild of the eastern section is the last of three phases on this corridor, and the earlier phases explain why the remaining lane works the way it does.

1. Early 2000s: Phase one finishes, rebuilding I-635 from U.S. Highway 80 to I-30.
2. 2015: Phase two, the LBJ TEXpress Lanes west of US-75, opens.
3. 2020: Construction begins on the 11-mile stretch from US-75 to I-30, through Dallas, Garland and Mesquite.
4. Sept. 20, 2025: The new Skillman Street bridge opens to traffic.
5. Sept. 14, 2026: The ceremonial ribbon-cutting is held. Texas Transportation Commissioner Robert C. Vaughn does the honors.
6. Late 2026: The new TEXpress toll lanes are scheduled to open. No specific date has been announced.

Vaughn described the approach behind phase three as putting "so many miles of I-635 under construction at the same time," calling it an "all-in approach rather than separate projects" that "allowed savings in time and money." For six years, that meant work zones across the whole corridor at once. It also means most of the finished pieces are open now.

The Free Lanes Are Already Open

WFAA put the scale of the problem simply. LBJ was first built in 1969 to carry 180,000 vehicles a day, and TxDOT now counts about 230,000. That's about 50,000 more trips a day than the road was designed for. The $1.7 billion rebuild is TxDOT's answer, and most of it costs nothing to use.

The Lake Highlands Advocate reports that the interstate now has 12 lanes in total, with room for more than 230,000 motorists a day. TxDOT's 635 East FAQ lists what was built:

• One additional lane in each direction between US-75 and I-30
• Continuous frontage roads, two to three lanes in each direction, along the whole corridor
• A rebuilt I-635/I-30 interchange
• A new aesthetic bridge at the Skillman Street/Audelia Road intersection

For trips within Lake Highlands, the frontage roads and the Skillman bridge matter most, because many local errands use the service roads and the crossings rather than the main lanes. The Advocate says the rebuilt Skillman Street Bridge gives pedestrians, bicyclists and commuters an easier daily trip. When the bridge opened in September 2025, the Advocate reported that the intersections on its north and south sides had been reconfigured and new access roads added. At that point some finishing work at the intersection was still underway.

That's the free half of the project, and it opened in stages over the past year as each part was finished.

The Toll Lane Isn't Open Yet

The 12-lane count includes one more piece. The project added a managed lane in each direction, and TxDOT's FAQ says it will operate as a toll lane, separated from the general-purpose lanes by a concrete barrier.

Those lanes haven't opened. TxDOT's TEXpress overview lists I-635 East as "Opening late 2026." In its ribbon-cutting coverage, WFAA reported that "New Toll lanes are expected to open later this year, according to officials." As of Oct. 7, 2026, neither TxDOT page reviewed for this post gives a specific opening day.

Lake Highlands drivers already know the name TEXpress from the LBJ lanes west of US-75, but these new lanes will be run by a different operator. TxDOT will manage the I-635 East TEXpress Lanes itself. The LBJ TEXpress Lanes from phase two are privately operated. The private operator's own segment pricing page says the US-75 to I-30 lanes are managed by TxDOT and have different pricing and HOV policies, so its rules for the western lanes don't apply to the eastern ones. In practice, the toll lane will be the same color and carry the same brand on both sides of US-75, but the rules change at the line.

What a Trip Will Cost, by Segment

TxDOT has already posted rates for the new lanes on its TEXpress toll rates page. TxDOT notes that these are minimum rates for two-axle vehicles with a toll tag, not fixed prices. Like the other TEXpress lanes, the I-635 East lanes use dynamic pricing, so tolls rise and fall with congestion to keep traffic moving at 50 mph or faster.

Here are the minimums TxDOT lists for the I-635 East segments, as posted in October 2026:

The table shows that the same stretch doesn't cost the same in both directions. Between Forest Lane and Audelia Road, the eastbound minimum is 16 cents higher than westbound. Between Jupiter Road and SH 78, westbound costs more by 15 cents. Two segments run in one direction only: Royal Lane to Plano Road is listed eastbound, and Walnut Hill Lane to Jupiter Road is listed westbound. TxDOT's text doesn't explain these differences, and the exact entry and exit points near Abrams, Plano Road, Miller Road and Jupiter Road weren't available in the material reviewed for this post. The table shows how the lane is divided for billing. It doesn't show where the ramps are.

Every price in the table is a minimum. Vehicles with three or more axles pay more, using a multiplier TxDOT publishes on the same page.

Tags, Carpools and Bills by Mail

How you pay affects the price as much as the time of day. TxDOT accepts TxTag, EZ TAG and TollTag on its DFW TEXpress lanes, and it names NTTA as the billing agency for the I-635E TEXpress lanes. Drivers without a tag pay a 50% surcharge over the tag rate across TxDOT's TEXpress lanes. NTTA explains that tag customers are charged automatically, while drivers without a TollTag receive a ZipCash bill by mail at a higher rate. At the posted minimum, an eastbound trip from Forest Lane to Audelia Road costs $0.77 with a tag. With the 50% surcharge, it would come to about $1.16 without one.

Carpools get a discount with conditions. Under the Regional Transportation Council's Managed Lane Policy, registered two-axle high-occupancy vehicles and motorcycles can get 50% off during weekday peak periods: Monday through Friday, 6:30 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6:30 p.m. The vehicle needs a valid toll tag, and the discount requires registration through the GoCarma app. Because the operator of the western lanes says its HOV policies differ from the eastern ones, a carpool setup that works west of US-75 shouldn't be assumed to work the same way on I-635 East.

Until the lanes open, all of this is information on a rate page. TxDOT's 635 East closures page is where the agency posts scheduled closures, and it notes they depend on weather and unforeseen circumstances.

When the toll lanes open later this year, every part of the six-year rebuild will finally be in use, from the Skillman/Audelia bridge to the frontage roads. If a new commute is also part of a bigger question about where you live or work in Lake Highlands, Modern Living Group is glad to help you think it through. Let's Start a Conversation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.