The Dallas City Council has approved moving forward with TxDOT’s $1 billion “hybrid” plan for Interstate 345 — the 1.4-mile highway that connects Interstate 24 to U.S. Route 75 through the middle of Dallas.
Council Member Chad West, who has been the loudest voice speaking on the future of I-345, said he still supports potentially replacing the highway with a boulevard but agreed to support Wednesday’s resolution after some of his concerns were addressed.
Several amendments were made to the resolution by Council Member Omar Narvaez to mitigate many of the objections to the plan held by both residents and council members during Wednesday’s city council meeting.
After these changes were introduced, the council unanimously voted to support the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) moving forward with its hybrid plan. TxDOT will now begin designing the new highway, the next phase of which is estimated to take two years and cost $20 million in state taxpayer money.
About a dozen community members spoke before the council in opposition to the “Refined Hybrid Option” proposed by TxDOT that would trench the highway 65 feet below ground and construct cross streets at ground level above the highway.
Residents voiced concerns about this plan impeding pedestrian and bike traffic, its impact on South Dallas residents, and the amount of pollution it would cause. Many said they would prefer the City move forward with its own independent study to determine the best future for I-345.
The hybrid plan was supported by the City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. However, it was opposed by Council Members Jesse Moreno and Chad West.
West has vocally protested TxDOT’s recommendation and voiced his support for tearing down the highway entirely and replacing it with a boulevard.
He voted in favor of the plan on Wednesday, but only after Narvaez introduced changes that would allow the City of Dallas to rescind its support for the plan in the future and require TxDOT to brief the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on the status of the project at least once every six months.
An amendment from Narvaez will also require TxDOT to incorporate decking and capping, also known as freeway lids, into its design of the project. This change persuaded Council Member Moreno to vote in favor of the resolution as it could allow the project to incorporate more green space and accommodate pedestrian traffic.
“What did we do today? We as a council decided we are going to partner up with TxDOT [and] we’re gonna take down the highway. I-345 will come down,” West told reporters after the vote. “The question is: what’s it going to become?”
West asserted that the City Council has a responsibility to “look beyond just moving cars” and consider factors such as economic development and housing. He also noted that project stakeholders still do not definitively know what the future of I-345 will be.
He said the City Council has “left the door open” to study alternative designs and maintained his position that a boulevard is the best option.
“What would have to happen for the stars to align for TxDOT and the City to adopt a boulevard option is a shift in the political mindset at the State and at the City level,” West told The Dallas Express.
He said he believes the boulevard option “should appeal” to the building developers as it will open up more land for housing and economic development, and he finds it “surprising … that there hasn’t been a groundswell of support from the development community.”
“It’s interesting that this topic transcends party lines and transcends age [and] socioeconomic status,” West noted.
While the resolution adopted by the City Council does allow Dallas to rescind its support for TxDOT’s hybrid plan following future studies on alternative options, the City would then be required to repay TxDOT for its costs incurred from the design of the project by that point.
Designing the project is expected to cost $20 million over two years. Construction could start in 2028 or 2029 and is expected to cost around $1 billion in state taxpayer money.
Following an inquiry from Council Member Mendelsohn, City Manager T.C. Broadnax said he did not know where the funds would come from should the City be required to make this payment.
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