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These two highways tore Dallas neighborhoods apart. Can the damage be fixed?

The Texas Department of Transportation hopes to help restitch four Dallas neighborhoods during the next two decades with massive overhauls of interstates 30 and 345.

The two projects — which are estimated to cost well over $1 billion — are in their infancy. Environmental studies and federal approval are still years away before the department can lay a square foot of concrete. And there is little money set aside for this work.

But the department is set to solicit community feedback this month with a series of meetings to unveil its sketches.

The work to replace the crumbling highways that have both defined and connected the city’s northern and southern neighborhoods and framed downtown has long been controversial. The work is also taking on a new light as highways completed in the 1950s and ’60s reach the end of their life span and cities across the country reexamine how highways not just move people but divide them.

A few major cities such as Detroit have committed to removing their sprawling interstates for neighborhoods and boulevards. Several including Boston, Seattle and Atlanta are either studying the issue or have proposed changes, according to a recent analysis by The New York Times.

In Dallas, Interstate 30 has long served as the dividing line between the city’s north and south sides. Residents in northern neighborhoods tend to be white and more affluent than their Black and Hispanic neighbors south of the highway.

The area under consideration for reconstruction and widening stretches 4.4 miles east from downtown to Ferguson Road, touching the South Dallas, Fair Park and Deep Ellum neighborhoods. If the project moves forward as planned, TxDOT hopes all three neighborhoods would be more accessible to each other.

Meanwhile, Interstate 345 — one of the shortest highways in the nation at just 1.4 miles — has allowed for more than 180,000 cars to move daily from the south to the north. And yet, the raised highway on the east side of downtown acts as a wall between the central business district and the Deep Ellum neighborhood.

Dallas County Commissioner Theresa Daniel, who represents eastern Dallas County and whose district would be affected by both projects, said she is eager for the opportunity to reconnect neighborhoods along I-30 and to better understand what the possible removal of I-345 would mean for residents.

“The way we have used our systems and the intersection of government and private industry has fostered dysfunctional relationships for many, many years,” she said. “It’s exciting that we actually — if we wanted to and have the political will to — can make some changes.”

Redesigning and rebuilding both highways was born out of work TxDOT completed in 2016, known as CityMAP.

The 341-page CityMAP document requires all new highways to take into consideration the mobility of people — not cars — reconnecting neighborhoods, sustainability and economic development.

The proposed changes to the east corridor of I-30 include expanding the highway to 10 general-purpose lanes and two reversible managed lanes. The lanes would also be depressed, similar to North Central Expressway. On- and off-ramps would be rebuilt.

The city would have options to add deck parks like Klyde Warren Park and the Southern Gateway. The city would also have an opportunity to add bike lanes and other pedestrian bridges to connect the neighborhoods.

As part of the changes, only a handful of commercial and government buildings and homes are expected to be razed, department officials said.

The concept for I-345 is less defined. Rather, the department will present several scenarios that range from rebuilding the raised highway exactly as it is today to removing it completely and replacing it with boulevards.

In nearly every scenario, the state would return land to the city of Dallas for development and no buildings or homes would be in the way of construction. However, the top concern among elected officials and advocates is how residents of southern Dallas would commute to the north for their jobs.

“No one has been able to show me what you’re going to do with 180,000 cars,” Daniel said.

The land underneath I-345 has been a point of contention as much as the highway. Multiple interests have put forth ideas of how to use the land sandwiched between the business district and Deep Ellum.

Roddrick West, state Sen. Royce West’s son, has proposed creating five temporary soccer fields. Meanwhile, a group of developers calling themselves the Coalition for a New Dallas has a series of proposals for expanded residential and commercial real estate.

Ken Smith, president of the Revitalize South Dallas Coalition, said he believes TxDOT is making strides to right decades of wrongs that have helped contribute to slower economic prosperity in southern Dallas.

But he is worried that talking about the two projects apart from each other and other ongoing work on U.S. Highway 175, which cuts through southern Dallas, is risky.

“We need education about what the projects are, how they relate to all other projects that are happening concurrently in the South Dallas-Fair Park area and trust in the process that it will be included because mistrust still exists,” he said.

Smith, who has closely observed the work TxDOT has done to S.M. Wright Freeway in South Dallas, said it will be crucial for the city and highway department to be mindful of existing and forthcoming plans around I-30 and I-345.

“We cannot separate the Fair Park master plan from the highway plans,” he said. “It’s up to each entity and the community to keep all parties abreast of what’s happening under the umbrella of development so we’re making the wisest decision when we reach a decision point.”

What’s more, Smith said that removing or improving physical barriers that have fostered segregation is only one step toward solving the city’s greater inequity issues.

“Interstate 30: I think it’s more psychological than geographical,” he said. “And it’s Dallas’ challenge to overcome the psychological barrier that is in everyone’s mindset.”

CORRECTION: 9 a.m., July 7: This article was updated to reflect that concrete, not cement is poured to make highways.

Public meetings

The Texas Department of Transportation will host meetings to discuss changes to interstates 30 and 345.

On June 8, the department will propose changes to Interstate 30 at Fair Park Coliseum, 1438 Coliseum Drive. Sessions are at 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Attendance at the in-person meetings will be by appointment only. To register, go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/I30EC or call 833-933-0443.

To attend the meeting virtually, go to http://www.keepitmovingdallas.com/I30EC.

On June 22, the department will host two events to discuss changes to Interstate 345. Appointments are necessary to attend in person. The meetings are at:

  • The Shed at Dallas Farmers Market, 1010 S. Pearl Expressway. Four one-hour meetings will be held starting at 3 p.m.
  • St. Philip’s School and Community Center, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Four one-hour meetings will be held starting at 4 p.m.

To register for either event, go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/345PM2 or call 833-933-0432.

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