Irving USPS Warehouse Causing Traffic Problems Due To Influx In Holiday Deliveries
IRVING, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - New plans are in place Thursday by the Irving Police Department after nearly a week of traffic caused by holiday deliveries on Highway 161.
The department says they saw four times as many semi-trucks on the road than usual, all coming from a USPS warehouse.
"Right now we have a little bit of holiday season congestion," said Robert Reeves, the spokesperson for the Irving Police Department. "So they are used to handling about 250 trucks a day… now there's about 1,000 trucks a day coming over here to pick up deliveries."
According to the National Retail Federation, online-only shoppers increased by 44% this year. Reeves says it's all those holiday orders, mixed with pandemic related e-commerce, that have caused the congestion on ramps and exits that are giving residents a hassle to get home.
The warehouse plans to move some of their mail to another space near Alliance airport.
Even so, the United States Postal Service says their busiest time isn't until next week.
"All we can do is do our best, you know, like we do every year," said Albert Ruiz, a strategic communications specialist for USPS.
He says they were already seeing a high volume of mail increase nine months ago. So when they hit shopping season, they knew they'd have to hire more employees, work longer hours and bring in extra transportation.
"We will be out delivering Christmas day. We are out here delivering seven days a week right now," Ruiz said.
Though he says as long as people continue to ship early, he's confident they won't have delays.
"We can always move mail around, move employees around, and just try to keep up with that demand," Ruiz said.
The first shipping deadline for USPS holiday delivery is on Dec. 15. A list of other key dates can be found below.
- Dec. 15 - USPS Retail Ground Service
- Dec. 18 - First-Class Mail Service (including greeting cards)
- Dec. 18 - First-Class packages (up to 15.99 ounces)
- Dec. 19 - Priority Mail Service
- Dec. 23 - Priority Mail Express Service
MORE FROM CBSDFW
