Dallas City Council Transportation Committee Backs TxDOT’s Interstate 345 ‘Hybrid Option’ in 5-2 Vote

City leaders, Texas Department of Transportation officials, and Dallas residents continued talks this week on the future of Interstate 345. What to do with the elevated freeway that cuts through Deep Ellum and downtown Dallas has been hailed as one of the most important transportation decisions in Dallas’ recent history. However, some Dallas City Council members have been hesitant to move forward with TxDOT’s “hybrid trench” recommendation absent a third-party independent study.

That changed Monday, as the council’s transportation committee voted 5-2 to support TxDOT’s plan to trench the highway 65 feet below ground, on the east side of downtown, making way for traffic to flow on decks over the roadway. About 5.4 acres of surplus right-of-way would be available for housing and economic development under this option.

The vote wasn’t necessary because committees aren’t required to give recommendations on briefing items. It does put a recommendation on the table for Wednesday’s City Council briefing, and an independent study can be commissioned later, committee members said.

Council members Chad West and Jesse Moreno, who represents Deep Ellum within the I-345 study area, balked at the rubber stamp. Following Wednesday’s briefing, the Dallas City Council is slated to vote on a resolution of support for TxDOT’s recommendation at its May 24 meeting. 

Moreno appeared particularly interested in an alternate boulevard option, which would add about 25 acres of surplus right-of-way to be used for housing and economic development.

“I hear loud and clear that TxDOT will not support any other option but the hybrid option,” Moreno said. “It doesn’t matter what questions we ask and what the outcome is. The direction from TxDOT is that they’re moving forward with the recommendation of a hybrid, regardless.” 

I-345 Independent Analysis

West said he was disappointed that the committee was supporting TxDOT’s recommendation, undermining a five-signature memo filed last month asking for an independent analysis. The transportation panel also voted 5-2 Monday to not recommend the five-signature memo because it conflicts with the panel’s support of the hybrid option.

“The ‘hybrid’ terminology is a brilliant marketing term,” West said. “It suggests a compromise. It’s not a compromise; it’s a trench. Let’s just be honest with ourselves. This five-signature memo calls for a study. This committee is recommending that there’s no study done. This generational decision, a decision that will impact our city for the next 70 to 100 years, is being decided to move forward today without a study that is independent of TxDOT.”

When the redeveloped interstate is reviewed again in 2099, the council’s successors will see that the transportation committee opted to “jump in the car with TxDOT” and support an option that favors cars over the environment, connecting communities, housing, and economic development, West said.

“I’m disappointed, and staff has said once we do this, there is no turning back,” he said. 

Dallas City Council Set to Vote on Interstate 345 Resolution Later This Month

How I-345 Hybrid Option Would Affect Housing

North Central Texas Council of Governments Director of Transportation Michael Morris pleaded with community leaders and housing advocates to pull together and support TxDOT’s hybrid option during a May 8 community meeting. 

“When we have this amount of money sitting in Washington, you make hay when the sun shines, and this is a great opportunity, in my opinion, to do that,” he said. 

Dallas Director of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization David Noguera said freeways have historically disconnected communities in North Texas. 

“Here we have an opportunity to reconnect them,” he said. “How we do that is up for debate. I believe that the hybrid option does offer a way to integrate that. One of the other things that stands out to me is the importance of leveraging additional funds. When you’re developing affordable housing, it’s no different than developing market-rate housing, but you typically have a gap that you have to fill with some other sources of funding.” 

The city wants to use state and federal funding resources whenever possible, Noguera added. 

“The question is, how do we put ourselves in the position to do that?” he said. “So when we’re coming before the city manager and the city council looking for funding to carry out our project, we’re not taking a go-it-alone approach. That approach typically doesn’t get us very far, particularly when the needs that we have for housing far exceed the resources. From a housing perspective, I like to take the barnacle approach. I want to latch on to an effort that’s already underway and ride it as far as it’ll take us, particularly when it comes to developing more housing.”

Transportation Committee Briefing on I-345

Monday’s transportation committee meeting, chaired by Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Omar Narvaez, prompted disagreement among council members who were concerned that an independent study could further delay a project that will already take at least a decade to complete. 

“I do not agree with the five-signature memo, and the main reason is it delays the entire process that would cause us to lose funding and … it wasn’t clear which option we were studying,” Narvaez said. “The biggest [concern] is the funding. Where are we going to get funding to pay for this study?”

West asked whether TxDOT engineers were working to align their transportation plans with recently-approved city policies on housing, economic development, and environmental concerns. While TxDOT has studied the project for 15 years, representatives said they need council support in order to secure funding and proceed with design and detailed planning. 

Once they have a recommendation to proceed with, a market study is required to determine the best land use for the surrounding property, said Assistant City Manager Robert Perez.

“Do we know how many more people could live around I-345 with the boulevard option as opposed to the trench option?” West asked. 

He was told additional analysis is needed to get that answer. 

“That’s the core of my issue with this,” West said.