Traffic News

New freeway project will re-do I-30 from downtown to East Dallas

Interstate 30 will eventually be widened and modernized.

Photo courtesy of DFW Freeways

The major freeway that runs east of Dallas is earmarked for a big re-do, and transportation officials are ready to unveil their latest recommendations.

The freeway is the I-30 East Corridor, extending from downtown Dallas east to 635 in Mesquite, which is slated to be widened and modernized — a project that'll be executed in six parts.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is ready to present Phase 2, which would start at I-345/I-45 on the edge of downtown and run 4.4 miles to Ferguson Road.

According to TxDOT project manager Nelson Underwood, the proposed improvements would include:

10 general purpose lanes (five in each direction)
2 reversible managed (HOV) lanes
discontinuous two-to-three-lane frontage roads in each direction
reconstruction of ramps and bridge structures

The current status on that section of I-30 has nine lanes: eight general-purpose lanes — four in each direction — and one reversible high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane.

Coming out of downtown, that stretch is on an elevated bridge structure from I-345/I-45 to Haskell Avenue, with overpasses from Haskell Avenue to Dolphin Road.

They're proposing that those lanes be depressed, IE sunken-in, similar to what's been done on US-75.

They're also considering accommodations for bicycle and pedestrian travel along the project corridor.

Currently, the frontage roads vary from two to three lanes in each direction, and are discontinuous within these limits. IE some exits, you get off and can't get back on.

"The road was built in the late '50s and early '60s and at that time, they had different design standards," Underwood says. "Another part of the project is to add capacity, by adding a fifth lane in each direction and two reversible HOV lanes. The improvements will help mobility and help the high volume of traffic move through corridor and make it safer."

I-30 is also distinctively curvy, which always seems to cause traffic to snarl.

"Are we going to take the curves out? No," Underwood says. "We're working with the city of Dallas, and one of the things the city impressed upon us was that it needed to be done within the existing right of way, to minimize and eliminate any right of way acquisitions. But we're going to bring the geometry up to current design standards with longer, more sweeping curves."

The project (ID # 000911259) is anticipated to cost more than $1 billion and hasn't been funded yet, but Underwood says it's a priority, and were they to secure funding, could begin in 2026.

It would be phase 2 in a six-part series of projects to renovate I-30 and US-80 between Dallas and Rockwall and Forney. Phase 1 is the Canyon through the downtown Dallas area, a 2-mile stretch from the Dallas Convention Center to the I-345 interchange, which was introduced in 2019.

The meeting/presentation will take place on June 8 at 4 pm, which you can view online or attend in person. They'll present information on these proposed improvements and solicit public comments, which you can offer via mail, email, or voicemail. All comments must be submitted and postmarked by Wednesday, June 23 to be included in the public record.

The presentation will be available at www.keepitmovingdallas.com/I30EC. You can view it at any time beginning on Tuesday, June 8 at 4 pm through Wednesday, June 23 at 11:59 pm.

The in-person option takes place on Tuesday, June 8 from 4-8 pm at Fair Park Coliseum in Dallas, at 1438 Coliseum Dr. If you want to attend, you need to make an appointment in advance, either online at www.signupgenius.com/go/I30EC or by calling 833-933-0443.

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income analysis

This is the family income needed for one parent to stay home in Texas

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

The cost of raising a child has ballooned in major metros like Dallas-Fort Worth, forcing many families to weight the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas, that amount is just under $75,000.

The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support their stay-at-home partner and their child, the report found. If both parents worked in the household, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in North Texas, however, is slightly more affordable. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $22,337 to raise a child in Dallas-Fort Worth.

In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

In other states like Massachusetts where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report's author says families will look for ways to reduce any financial burdens.

"This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

West Virginia – $68,099
Arkansas – $68,141
Mississippi – $70,242
Kentucky – $70,408
North Dakota – $70,949
Oklahoma – $71,718
Ohio – $72,114
South Dakota – $72,218
Alabama – $72,238
Nebraska – $72,966

texas income smartasset family