DART News

North Dallas roadway to close for a year for DART Silver line construction

Silver Line train

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A portion of a major thoroughfare in North Dallas is about to be shut down for a year: Beginning Thursday, January 25, a portion of Hillcrest Road between McCallum Boulevard and Wester Way in North Dallas will be closed for a 52-week period as construction continues for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Silver Line project.

DART and the City of Dallas have agreed to close the 1/5-mile section of Hillcrest Road to ensure the utmost safety for both the public and work crews while a grade separated rail crossing at Hillcrest is being constructed. The 52-week closure will begin on Thursday, January 25, 2024 and last until January 24, 2025. There will be no access to Hillcrest Road between McCallum Boulevard and Wester Way during this time.

Detours will be in place to direct commuter traffic to Coit Road on the east, and Preston Road on the west of Hillcrest Road. There will be limited access from McKamy Boulevard. To ensure safety for area residents, Dallas Fire Rescue (DFR) and the Dallas Police Department (DPD) will have emergency access at several locations throughout the construction site.

The Hillcrest Road closure is near the City of Richardson border and the area is within Plano Independent School District attendance zones. DART has been in regular communication with city and school district officials in Richardson and Plano regarding construction updates and safety measures due to Silver Line work and the upcoming closure. DART also continues to provide updates to nearby cities who may have commuters that frequent the area. Digital road signs alerting drivers of the upcoming closure have been in place since late December.

“While we understand that this temporary road closure will be an inconvenience to commuters and the adjacent community, public safety will always be our primary focus,” said Dee Leggett, DART chief development officer. “Due to the limited work area and the extent of excavation necessary, we’re taking every possible precaution for the safety of drivers, pedestrians, and our construction teams. Our goal is to complete construction safely and quickly, so we can get traffic on Hillcrest Road back to normal while continuing to advance the Silver Line project.”

The DART Silver Line is a 26-mile commuter rail that traverses seven North Texas cities (Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson, Plano) between DFW Airport and Shiloh Road in Plano. The regional rail alignment crosses three counties (Collin, Dallas, Tarrant) and will provide service to improve mobility and accessibility across the northern portion of the DART service area. DART Silver Line revenue service is scheduled to begin in late 2025 to mid-2026.

traffic transportation

Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

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This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

politics