Road Closure News

Major freeway will shut down on east side of Dallas this weekend

They'll be shutting down the freeway in both directions.

Photo courtesy of DFW Freeways

There's a major freeway closure taking place this weekend on the east side of Dallas: All lanes of I-30, both eastbound and westbound, will be closed on Saturday May 8, at Galloway Avenue, out by Mesquite.

In addition to the mainlanes on I-30, full closures of the Galloway Avenue overpass at I-30 and certain I-30/I-635 direct connectors will also be required.

This is relevant for those planning a trip to area destinations such as Town East Mall in Mesquite; The Harbor Rockwall on Lake Ray Hubbard; and the Buc-ee's by Royse City. Not to mention those making a longer trip to more distant locations such as Texarkana and Little Rock, Arkansas. All of these locations require eastward passage on I-30. You're all on notice.

The closures are part of the 635 East Project, and are being initiated in order to perform beam settings at Galloway Avenue over I-30. Beams are the concrete structures which form the framework of a bridge that crosses over the highway. You can see them on the 635 Instagram page, which is documenting the ongoing construction.

The closures begin at 8 pm on Saturday, and will remain closed until Sunday, May 9 at noon.

Detours are as follows:

I-30 mainlane closure
Traffic going eastbound will be detoured to the frontage road using Exit 56A prior to Gus Thomasson Road.

Westbound mainlane traffic will be detoured to the frontage road using Exit 57 at Northwest Drive.

Westbound I-30 direct connector to southbound I-635
DETOUR: Westbound mainlane traffic will use Exit 57 and the westbound I-30 frontage road. From there, drivers will head north on Galloway Avenue toward Oates Drive, where they can turn right to use the entrance ramp to southbound I-635.

Westbound I-30 direct connector to northbound I-635
DETOUR: Westbound mainlane traffic will use Exit 57 and the westbound I-30 frontage road. From there, drivers will head north on Galloway Avenue toward the I-635 intersection to access the entrance ramp to northbound I-635

Southbound I-635 direct connector to eastbound I-30
DETOUR: Southbound I-635 drivers will use Exit 7B and the U-turn lane at Town East Boulevard to access the eastbound I-30 frontage road ramp

Northbound I-635 direct connector to eastbound I-30
DETOUR: Northbound I-635 drivers will still use Exit 8B (toward Texarkana) to access the eastbound I-30 frontage road ramp

Northbound and southbound Galloway Avenue at I-30
DETOUR: Northbound and southbound Galloway Avenue drivers will use Barnes Bridge Road, Morningside Drive, Northwest Drive and Oates Drive to access Galloway

Drivers are advised to plan commutes in advance or seek alternate routes to avoid unexpected delays. In other words, maybe this is not the weekend to hit Town East Mall.

All scheduled work and closures are subject to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

The 635 East Project is an 11-mile update of Interstate 635 in Dallas County. Construction includes the addition of a mainlane in each direction, new frontage roads along the corridor, and reconstruction of the interchange at I-635 and I-30.

traffic transportation

Weed News

Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Dallas over decriminalization of marijuana

Photo courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife

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The City of Dallas has been sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for its efforts to decriminalize marijuana.

According to a release, Paxton has sued the city for adopting a city charter amendment that would decriminalize marijuana-related offenses and prohibit police from enforcing Texas law.

That amendment was Proposition R, or Dallas Freedom Act, which decriminalizes possession of four ounces of marijuana or less. Voters passed the amendment in the November 5 election, with 67 percent voting in favor.

The lawsuit, filed against the Dallas City Council, alleges that Proposition R is unconstitutional and violates Texas drug laws criminalizing any amount of marijuana.

Paxton says that cities can't "pick and choose which state laws to follow." He's proposing a permanent injunction to stop Proposition R from going into effect.

"The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them," says Paxton in a statement. "This is a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution, and any city that tries to constrain police in this fashion will be met swiftly with a lawsuit by my office.”

Before the recent election, possession of two to four ounces of marijuana could result in a punishment of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Ground Game Texas, the activist nonprofit that has also helped get marijuana decriminalization on the ballot in elections across Texas, first got the issue on the ballot in July with the necessary 50,000 signatures.

Dallas is not the only city to be sued; Paxton also filed lawsuits against five other cities in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos in January for their ballots and policies decriminalizing marijuana.

Both Austin and San Marcos had a judge overturn their cases, according to a FOX 4 report.

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