| Interstate 35W | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by TxDOT | ||||
| Length: | 85.203 mi (137.121 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1959 – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
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| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Hill, Johnson, Tarrant, Denton | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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This article is about the Interstate 35W that services Fort Worth, Texas. For the Interstate 35W that services Minneapolis, Minnesota, see Interstate 35W (Minnesota).
Interstate 35W (abbreviated I-35W), an Interstate Highway, is the western half of Interstate 35 where it splits to serve the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. I-35 splits into two branch routes, I-35W and I-35E at Hillsboro. I-35W runs north for 85.20 miles (137.12 km), 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. This is one of two points where I-35 splits into suffixed pairs of Interstate highways to service a metropolitan area, doing the same thing in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.
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.