Advocates presented a compelling case to remove the aging stretch of Interstate 345 that bisects Dallas adjacent to downtown. But state transportation officials have decided to rehab, rather than remove, the freeway.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has taken a final stand on its plans to rehab I-345 along a 1.7 mile stretch in downtown Dallas. The target for completion of the project, according to an article by Robert Wilonsky, is 2020.
The decision came down to money and traffic. On the former: “TxDOT told the city it will cost $100 million to rehab the bridge, as opposed to the $1 billion it says it would cost to take it down and replace it with, say, a tunnel or some other car-moving option.” And on the latter: “Where do those 170,000 to 200,000 cars per day go?”
The rehab, however, is a band aid solution, allowing the elevated freeway to survive another 20-25 years. In the meantime, proposed park developments wait until the I-345 project is complete and a vision that starts with tearing down the freeway will have to wait.
FULL STORY: TxDOT tells Dallas it will repair and not remove the highway separating Deep Ellum and downtown
TxDOT Recommends a 10-Lane ‘Infrastructure Grave’ in Dallas
Rather than removing the freeway altogether, which the Texas Department of Transportation calls ‘unfeasible,’ the agency recommends burying the road in a billion-dollar, ten-lane trench through the city’s downtown.
Columnist to Dallas: Tear Down That Freeway
Freeways have been removed before, but if the Texas Department of Transportation decides to tear down the I-345 freeway in Dallas, it would reflect a massive sea change in urban transportation planning.
TxDOT Promises to Reverse Some of the Damage Caused by Urban Freeways in Dallas
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is in the early stages of planning for two projects that could leverage plans to rebuild two freeways in the city with plan to reconnect the neighborhoods they severed.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
How California Transit Agencies are Addressing Rider Harassment
Safety and harassment are commonly cited reasons passengers, particularly women and girls, avoid public transit.
Significant Investments Needed to Protect LA County Residents From Climate Hazards
A new study estimates that LA County must invest billions of dollars before 2040 to protect residents from extreme heat, increasing precipitation, worsening wildfires, rising sea levels, and climate-induced public health threats.
Federal Rule Raises Cost for Oil and Gas Extraction on Public Lands
An update to federal regulations raises minimum bonding to limit orphaned wells and ensure cleanup costs are covered — but it still may not be enough to mitigate the damages caused by oil and gas drilling.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
