Congestion relief is coming to I-35 south of Fort Worth. But be patient
The plan to widen and reconfigure Interstate 35W to alleviate congestion between Fort Worth and Burleson is moving ahead, though the Texas Department of Transportation said no firm timeline for the project start or completion date has been set. It’s been in the planning phases since 2019.
Those who regularly drive that stretch of freeway know well the frustration of gridlock traffic, especially between I-20 and Texas 174/Wilshire Boulevard in Burleson. There are several options on the table to fix those issues, according to the most recent available planning documents
Two options are to simply widen the interstate from three northbound and southbound lanes to five or six lanes in each direction. Alternate proposals include combinations of five- and six-lane configurations.
One idea is to have five lanes northbound and six lanes southbound between I-20 and Risinger Road before going back down to five lanes from Risinger to Renfro Street in Burleson. There’s also the option of having six lanes in both directions between I-20 and Risinger Road and five lanes between Risinger. and Renfro.
TxDOT could also do what it did to I-35W north of Fort Worth and add express toll lanes. One proposal is to widen the interstate from three to five lanes in both directions and have one reversible express lane that could go in either direction depending on the primary flow of traffic. Another proposal is to have four interstate lanes in each direction and one dedicated express lane in each direction.
TxDOT’s analysis report also recommended widening the I-35 frontage roads between I-20 and Texas 174 from two to three lanes, adding bike and pedestrian paths. Additional recommendations included reconfiguring the interchange at F.M. 1187/Rendon Crowley Road and the interchange at Texas 174, both of which are bottlenecks.
A recommendation is to construct a partial cloverleaf interchange at I-35 and FM 1187, which would improve flows to FM 1187 from the north and the south.
Since southbound traffic exiting I-35W toward FM 1187 backs up at the stoplight at that intersection, an alternative plan would be to construct a diamond interchange at that spot, allowing traffic from I-35W to merge directly onto the westbound lanes of FM 1187 without the need for a stoplight.
A little farther south, I-35W currently shrinks from three to two southbound lanes at Texas 174, with two exit lanes from the freeway. Under the latest TxDOT proposal, the interstate would go from five to three lanes at that junction, with two lanes dedicated to traffic exiting onto Texas 174. Additionally, overpasses would be added at Texas 174 and Hillery Street and Texas 174 and Renfro Street heading farther into Burleson, reducing congestion at those chokepoints.