Iconic state of Texas symbol on I-20 in Dallas being relocated

The giant and increasingly popular red, white and blue Lone Star state symbol on an I-20 median in southwest Dallas is being relocated to Grand Prairie, according to NFCDFW.com and TxDOT.

The popular attraction near Mountain Creek Lake Park is a safety concern because it’s in the middle of the interstate and although there are posted signs saying “Keep Off Median,” lots passersby can’t seem to resist pulling off on the well-worn dirt trail to take a picture in front of it. It’s getting back on the highway that’s tricky, the Texas Department of Transportation says.

“It’s a major concern because people are having to merge into traffic that’s doing 60 to 70 miles an hour, from a dead stop,” said TxDOT spokesman Tony Hartzel.

It has always been illegal to pull off the highway and stop at the site to take pictures, TxDOT spokesman Ryan LaFontaine told CBSDFW.com. But that hasn’t stopped people from doing so. In fact, the attraction has grown in popularity, LaFontaine said.

The giant installation is about 50 feet in diameter and was created about a decade ago as a Boy Scouts project, Hartzel said.

Some wanted the state to turn it into a rest area and add parking, but TxDOT doesn’t build rest areas in highway medians with center lane access, Hartzel told NBCDFW.com.

Reaction was mixed on social media:

The highway art project is being turned over to the city of Grand Prairie, Hartzel said. City spokeswoman Amy Sprinkles told NBCDFW.com that the installation will be kept in a storage facility until a permanent home can be found for it.

This story was originally published December 12, 2016 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Iconic state of Texas symbol on I-20 in Dallas being relocated."