Traffic on Interstate 345 is expected to increase to 206,000 vehicles per day in the next two decades, prompting Dallas residents and public officials to gather earlier this week for a discussion on proposed future options.
Interstate 345 is a 1.4-mile elevated, six-lane structure built in 1973. It connects North and South Dallas between Interstate 45 and U.S. 75 and provides east-west connections between Interstate 30 and Woodall Rodgers Freeway, supporting about 180,000 vehicles per day.
The Texas Department of Transportation conducted a feasibility study beginning in 2018 to develop alternative options for the future of the interstate. Critics have said another independent study should be conducted before the Dallas City Council rubber-stamps TxDOT’s recommendation.
A resolution of support for TxDOT’s “refined hybrid” option is tentatively slated to go before the City Council on May 24, following a council briefing next week.
Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, asked public officials and residents Monday to rally around TxDOT’s plan.
“I have a special plea … to pull together as a team and find a strategy for TxDOT to buy and sell this right-of-way, not just on I-345 but I-30, because we have surplus property on both, and create a balance between mobility, economic development, and the future of the inner core of the city,” Morris said.
He highlighted the potential connectivity for the city’s “bookend” improvements of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas to the west and Fair Park to the east.
TxDOT Recommendation
Officials representing the City of Dallas, TxDOT, and Dallas Area Rapid Transit were available to answer questions from the public, a rare opportunity for an open discussion on an issue that drew about 100 people who either watched the meeting online or participated in person.
Watch the full 90-minute discussion here.
TxDOT is recommending a “refined hybrid” option, which would trench the highway between downtown and Deep Ellum, reconnecting existing streets with overhead bridges. Once TxDOT gets support from the city council, it can pursue funding.
TxDOT engineer Ceason Clemens said the highway department looked at four options: leaving I-345 as-is, building it below grade, reconstructing an elevated interstate with modified ramps, and a boulevard option.
TxDOT’s “main goals” are mobility, connectivity, sustainability, and economic development, she said.
“That’s essentially the basis of the feasibility study — how do we find an alternative that really meets all those goals?” Clemens said.
Common themes gathered from extensive community surveying showed that residents were concerned with community cohesion, impacts to access between south and north Dallas, traffic, economic development potential, and pedestrian safety, the engineer explained.
Will Dallas Hire an Independent Consultant?
Some elected officials have called for an independent review separate from TxDOT’s $7 million feasibility study.
Dallas City Council members Chad West, Paul Ridley, Jesse Moreno, Gay Donnell Willis, and Paula Blackmon filed a memo April 10 asking the city manager to hire a consultant to review the project.
Some residents at Monday’s public meeting appeared to support that idea.
Knox/Henderson resident Mark Ishmael advocated for the removal of the highway and reconnecting thoroughfares in an environmentally-friendly way that facilitates transit and walkability.
Others balked at the expense and delay that would be created by an additional study.
Valencia Street resident Ed Zahra spoke in support of TxDOt’s hybrid option.
“Why do you think it’s necessary to spend more taxpayer dollars and more time to get another consultant to give us more of the same research?” he said.
The gathering wasn’t posted as a Dallas City Council meeting, so while some council members were in attendance, they could not engage in discussion, under the Texas Open Meetings Act. The item will be briefed at a May 15 meeting of the council’s Transportation Committee and before the full council May 17, officials said.
Dallas Assistant City Manager Robert Perez pointed out that some of the options assign construction costs to TxDOT. If an option is selected that involves purchasing surplus right-of-way, the city could end up footing a multimillion-dollar bill. Some options require approval by the Texas governor and the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, he added.
“The refined hybrid, from our perspective, gives a good balance between all the options,” Perez said. “This provides about 8.7 acres of surplus right-of-way and the potential for almost 10 acres of deck capping. For this option, the City of Dallas could purchase that right-of-way for between $76 million to $133 million and fund the deck caps for about $295 million. This would probably be supported by state and federal dollars as well.”
Perez said the panel was convened because officials wanted to hear from each other and the public.
“For any of the redevelopment options, the City of Dallas would have to complete a market study to determine best use of surplus right-of-way or the deck caps, whether it be for commercial use, housing, parks, et cetera,” Perez said. “We would have to identify the funding for that. It could be a combination of future bond funds, public-private partnerships, or available grants.”
