Dallas City Council recently did an about-face on supporting the Texas Dept. of Transportation plan to replace a key highway near downtown after members decided the state's feasibility studies needed more input from critical stakeholders.
The 1.5 mile Interstate 345 divides downtown Dallas and the Deep Ellum neighborhood to the east. Originally built in the 1970, the elevated highway structure carries traffic between four major roadways; I-30, US 75, I-45 and Woodall Rodgers Expressway. The roadway carries 180,000 vehicles daily, according to traffic counts made in 2018.
Since 2019, TxDOT has held three rounds of public hearing to determine the future of the highway. The resulting feasibility study released last year recommended a "refined hybrid option" that puts the interstate main lanes on a lower level and provides existing and new city street connections above. The agency estimates the project will cost $1 billion.
In the near past, Dallas council members were quoted in local media as supporting the hybrid plan; 12 of the 14 council members voiced support for removing and replacing I 345 with a mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood and linking East and South Dallas last year.
That changed in a meeting on April 10 when Dallas City Council members said a new study outside of the TxDOT direction is needed to hear from all of Dallas's residents.
“I don’t think it’s prudent of us just to accept data created by TxDOT only when we haven’t considered relevant information from economists, housing specialists, and urban planners who should be at the table with us," says Council Member Chad West told local media outlets, adding, the council believes TxDOT engineers focused too much on vehicle traffic.
Council members will decide at a June meeting whether to commission its own feasibility study. If council members approve, this will be the fourth feasibility study conducted on the taxpayer's dime within the last 11 years.
One city official told ENR the council’s wanting another study is a change from its positions last year and is unexpected and questionable. The official, who was not authorized to speak to the media, said that for years, the state Transportation Dept. stood firm on maintaining the existing bridge. But then, in October 2022, the state issued plans for a $1 billion hybrid project that includes digging a 65-ft deep trench. The October study also includes adding additional ramps but keeping three lanes in each direction.
