Relief Finally In Sight For Drivers On Interstate 35
CARROLLTON (CBSDFW.COM) - Road construction in North Texas never really ends, but commuters along the I-35 Express project are ready to celebrate a pause. The four-year $4.8 billion project between Dallas and Denton is on schedule to wrap up this fall and commuters can't wait.
"On Fridays, I leave about a good hour early," says Valarie Fails, "because it's just terrible!"
Fails works in downtown Carrollton and says the four year project has at times felt like 40, but she believes the finished project will be worth the construction headaches.
"I'm peacock happy and elephant proud," she adds with a laugh. "I cannot wait."
TxDot ranked the Interstate 35 corridor between Dallas and Denton as one of the most congested in the state. Shea Hamilton says technology helped her manage the delays.
"I have an app for the 35Express so that I'm able to keep up to date with what's going on and be able to show my clients hey, this is what's going on," says Hamilton, who sees clients at the Carrollton Square Salon & Spa. "We send out mass emails to clients all the time: there is construction in the area, just be mindful."
All 30 miles of roadway will get reworked. Managed lanes in the middle of the freeway are already open. Commuters will also see reworked exchanges and widened bridges to accommodate some 200,000 daily travelers through the area.
"Always babies being born and new people moving here every day," says Hamilton, while agreeing that road construction in North Texas is constant. But she and other commuters are ready to enjoy a temporary pause.
"It's going to be great for everybody," says Fails.