Why are many North Texas highways still closed after last week’s ice storm?

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) – More than two days after the ice melted last week, miles of highways in North Texas were still closed, part of a winter weather highway authority decision linked to a 2021 133-vehicle crash in Fort Worth .

Instead of operating and maintaining managed highway toll lanes during winter storms, TxDOT and the private companies that operate TEXpress lanes, began to completely close the lanes.

They may remain closed long after the winter rainfall has passed. Although the sun had set by Friday last week and traffic had resumed in the area, some lanes were still closed to the public until early Monday morning, according to TxDOT.

The decision limited the usual eight available lanes to four on I-35W in Fort Worth on Friday night, doubling travel time on the day most people returned to work.

Lanes were also closed in Dallas and Tarrant counties on I-30, SH 183, SH 114, and LBJ.

Drivers have noticed.

“Don’t they have the money or the infrastructure to maintain the roads in weather like this?” one driver asked on Twitter.

“…monitoring and maintenance of these roads should be carried out around the clock, seven days a week, 365 days a week,” wrote another.

A TxDOT spokesperson said that instead of directly answering CBS11’s questions about the decision or calling back, the agency would only provide a statement “due to the ongoing litigation and ongoing NTSB investigation into the 2021 crash on I-35W in Fort Worth.” .”

Six people died in this crash, lawsuits from the families of the victims and those injured are pending, as is the final NTSB report, which produced over 1400 pages of information about the accident last month.

TxDOT said in a statement that the closure is so crews can focus on clearing major lanes. Because the lanes have not been repaired for several days, the agency said it takes time to clear and inspect them before they can reopen safely.

A spokesman for North Tarrant Express said they remained closed until the weekend due to freezing fog and 30-degree temperature forecasts, and that they are clearing a decision with TxDOT.

NTTA, which operates five toll roads in the region, did not close any of its lanes throughout the duration of the storm.

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, which oversees roads in the Austin area, said police in two cities have closed sections on two of their highways. Repair crews broke the ice and reopened them by Thursday evening.

Terri Hall, who has been fighting toll roads in Texas for more than 15 years and in some cases is turning over control to commercial entities, said closing only certain lanes in North Texas did not seem to be about safety. .

“So now we’re facing all sorts of legal issues that are now affecting the ability of the public to access their public roads,” she said.

While operators have an incentive to stay open and charge tolls (TEXpress lanes on I-35W, I-820 and LBJ generated $148.8M in the third quarter of 2022), Hall says it looks like this is now weighed against what might have to be paid. in court if there is an accident.

In her opinion, the outcome of the lawsuits already pending will influence decisions on track closures and maintenance in the future.

“Maybe it’s not a weather phenomenon, maybe next time it will be some other event,” she said. “Maybe this is a climate emergency. Who knows what we might come up with.”