Dallas Fort Worth Urban Forum

So the project is essentially done as of now. What is everyone's thoughts on the outcome of this project? Generally, it appears to be a major improvement, but there is still one very significant bottle neck that this project appears to have made much, much worse, which is very (VERY) frustrating: when transiting between I35E southbound to I30 eastbound, all the traffic gets dropped into the right three controlled access exit lanes, and is separate from the I30 westbound main lanes for nearly the entire stretch of the I30 canyon. The merge point to get onto the I30 lanes is a single lane access that is CONSTANTLY backed up. I know that this access point is further away from the horseshoe project and thus probably wasn't covered by it, but you really have to be annoyed to see such poor planning since traffic in this specific segment is definitely worse than it was originally.

Seems worse to me as well. The lanes seem smaller on the overpasses as well.

From my perspective, my commute from N. Oak Cliff into town has improved. That's taking Hampton to I-30 and getting onto Woodall Rogers. Woodall hasn't improved though. It seems like the dedicated route to Woodall from 35 somewhere below DTD has reduced the mixing and crossover of cars. I have said before and some members on here have said it wasn't important, but I think TxDot or the City of Dallas really needs to improve on landscaping the highways in Dallas. It would be so much better to have pockets of green that make the commute more pleasant, help scrub the air of the vehicular pollution, act as noise abatement and visually soften the concrete jungle around us. Nothing crazy or high maintenance. Just some native trees and shrubs that can sustain themselves and thrive in the heat.
(Crepe Myrtles, Vitex, Live Oak, Oleander) Also thinking of Afghan Pine or other hardy evergreens. Dallas is not ugly, but also no beauty queen. Park and streets enhancements should be taken into consideration more seriously. Maybe our Forum member who lives in Atlanta can tell us how pleasant it is to commute in a verdant place like his. Even our nemesis to the south- Houston- has gotten into the act of greening up it's own thoroughfares.

https://www.charlotteagenda.com/18954/1 ... tree-city/

NdoorTX wrote:... Maybe our Forum member who lives in Atlanta can tell us how pleasant it is to commute in a verdant place like his. Even our nemesis to the south- Houston- has gotten into the act of greening up it's own thoroughfares.

https://www.charlotteagenda.com/18954/1 ... tree-city/

My commute is 12 miles, 15 minutes by highway, 30 minutes if I weave across town. The Appalachian Piedmont is modestly hilly here like the Hill County Uvalde, Leaky, Kerrville and the forest is thick like Mount Pleasant, Texarkana.

It's beautiful. As much as I (grew to) love the Southern California beaches, cliffs and world-class weather, I prefer the forest a little bit more.

Mixmaster: is the exchange between I-35 - I-30 pending the reconstruction of I-30?

My trip along 30 into Dallas has improved, the new I-30 bridge is an improvement going both ways. Into Dallas towards Woodall or up 35 and coming back across 30 going west. Either way it is definitely better.

thanks for the description Tam. I knew it had to be lovely. The tree canopy in Atlanta is amazing. I lived in SoCal for 5 years and prefer the hills and forest you described. I'm going to prepare a presentation for the city council, our new city manager and see what response I get to a public/private/volunteer tree planting coalition. It can't hurt- there are city bond packages up for a vote soon.

homeworld1031tx wrote:So the project is essentially done as of now. What is everyone's thoughts on the outcome of this project? Generally, it appears to be a major improvement, but there is still one very significant bottle neck that this project appears to have made much, much worse, which is very (VERY) frustrating: when transiting between I35E southbound to I30 eastbound, all the traffic gets dropped into the right three controlled access exit lanes, and is separate from the I30 westbound main lanes for nearly the entire stretch of the I30 canyon. The merge point to get onto the I30 lanes is a single lane access that is CONSTANTLY backed up. I know that this access point is further away from the horseshoe project and thus probably wasn't covered by it, but you really have to be annoyed to see such poor planning since traffic in this specific segment is definitely worse than it was originally.

I could be wrong, but I believe the Lowest Stemmons Project is going to address some of this problem.

ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/ocr/paved/lowest-stemmons.pdf

Alex Rodriguez wrote:
I could be wrong, but I believe the Lowest Stemmons Project is going to address some of this problem.

ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/ocr/paved/lowest-stemmons.pdf

I don't think this Lowest Stemmons project will address the issue that I'm talking about. That project terminates at the north part of the horseshoe project, the problem that I details is at the far east part of the project on 30

I think that part of the 30 is so messed up that no matter where that connection is it'll be a back up. I did travel from northbound 35 to Woodall Rogers yesterday at 4:45p and it was a amazingly easy and traffic free. Going from westbound 30 to southbound 35 was also relatively pain-free as well, but the 30 canyon going westbound was backed up until it hit the horseshoe area.

when is I-30 reconstruction supposed to happen?

NdoorTX wrote:thanks for the description Tam. I knew it had to be lovely. The tree canopy in Atlanta is amazing. I lived in SoCal for 5 years and prefer the hills and forest you described. I'm going to prepare a presentation for the city council, our new city manager and see what response I get to a public/private/volunteer tree planting coalition. It can't hurt- there are city bond packages up for a vote soon.

That would be cool to see greenery near the highway. But I believe TXDot is supposed to do the landscaping for Highways.. Its not a city function.

I think TXDot chooses not to plant much trees or grass is because of the added costs of trimming and maintenance.

I doubt the City would approve spending extra for Highway beautification.

I'm not sure if they are going to start construction on the Canyon. I think TxDOT is debating different plans over the Canyon. The options they are considering includes demolishing the Canyon and rerouting 30 altogether. Not sure how that will pan out. But it's something they are seriously considering.

When is the Margaret McDermott Bridge (pedestrian) supposed to open..

joshua.dodd wrote:I'm not sure if they are going to start construction on the Canyon. I think TxDOT is debating different plans over the Canyon. The options they are considering includes demolishing the Canyon and rerouting 30 altogether. Not sure how that will pan out. But it's something they are seriously considering.

I find it hard to believe that they're considering this, when they just spend 700 million dollars rebuilding the i30/i35 interchange. I am all for them tearing up the canyon and making it a straight pass through with only an exit or two into downtown though. The entire area is a wasteland and could use a nice shot in the arm.

homeworld1031tx wrote:

joshua.dodd wrote:I'm not sure if they are going to start construction on the Canyon. I think TxDOT is debating different plans over the Canyon. The options they are considering includes demolishing the Canyon and rerouting 30 altogether. Not sure how that will pan out. But it's something they are seriously considering.

I find it hard to believe that they're considering this, when they just spend 700 million dollars rebuilding the i30/i35 interchange. I am all for them tearing up the canyon and making it a straight pass through with only an exit or two into downtown though. The entire area is a wasteland and could use a nice shot in the arm.

The redesign is not supposed to be anytime soon...

I don't think the Corps of Engineers will approve planting many trees in the Trinity River Spillway, or on its levees. So any landscaping will have to be done outside of the levees. And that's probably less than 20% of the acerage.
I remember Dallas asking TXDOT to plant landscaping along North Central Expressway, which turned brown and died within years during the first drought. A major mistake.

Just plant some drought resistant grass and hope it rains will probably be best in our climate.

Additionally, I'm tired of people from Southern California suggesting how Texans should do anything!

What's the average number of days the City of Los Angeles see 110 degrees F temperatures per year?
Here's the average of several cities:
http://www.kvoa.com/story/35639617/the- ... 00-degrees
Phoenix = 110
Las Vegas = 74
Dallas = 18
Sacramento = 15
Wichita = 13
Salt Lake City = 6
Bismark = 2
Los Angeles = 2

There are reasons people flock to Texas, and I suggest their number one reason is NOT to be more like Los Angeles.

electricron wrote:I don't think the Corps of Engineers will approve planting many trees in the Trinity River Spillway, or on its levees. So any landscaping will have to be done outside of the levees. And that's probably less than 20% of the acerage.
I remember Dallas asking TXDOT to plant landscaping along North Central Expressway, which turned brown and died within years during the first drought. A major mistake.

Just plant some drought resistant grass and hope it rains will probably be best in our climate.

Additionally, I'm tired of people from Southern California suggesting how Texans should do anything!

What's the average number of days the City of Los Angeles see 110 degrees F temperatures per year?
Here's the average of several cities:
http://www.kvoa.com/story/35639617/the- ... 00-degrees
Phoenix = 110
Las Vegas = 74
Dallas = 18
Sacramento = 15
Wichita = 13
Salt Lake City = 6
Bismark = 2
Los Angeles = 2

There are reasons people flock to Texas, and I suggest their number one reason is NOT to be more like Los Angeles.

That's ridiculous. There are plenty of perfectly attractive plants that love growing over rocks and and even concrete that stay green all summer. Some even bloom only at the hottest times of year. Some even suffer when they are pampered. There was simply little to no effort given to Central Expressway's landscaping. Someone got a fat paycheck to just plant something and now we have a freeway full of weeds

I remember when that landscape project was finished along Central, right after that they started dumping water on it all the time. It was totally wrong for Dallas. It could have and should have been planted completely drought tolerant, it would have looked totally different but it would be green today and require little maintenance.