Road work to close parts of I-35W this weekend

Here we go again. As the reconstruction of Interstate 35W continues from near downtown to far north Fort Worth, more stretches of the busy freeway will be closed this weekend.

And for good reason as what’s left of the Northeast 28th Street bridge is being demolished.

Better now than when football season starts, right?

9 p.m. Friday-10 a.m. Saturday

▪ All northbound and southbound lanes of I-35W at Northeast 28th Street will be closed and traffic will be directed along the frontage roads.

▪ All eastbound and westbound lanes of Northeast 28th Street will be closed. Eastbound traffic will be directed to Northside Drive, and westbound traffic will be directed to 33rd Street.

9 p.m. Saturday-10 a.m. Sunday

▪ All eastbound lanes of Loop 820 at the I-35W interchange will be closed. Traffic will be directed along the frontage road to Meacham Boulevard.

▪ The northbound and southbound I-35W connectors to eastbound Loop 820 will be closed. Traffic will be directed to Meacham Boulevard.

Alternative routes

We suggest avoiding I-35W during these times and, frankly, as much as possible because the freeway serves up a steady dose of orange barrels and stop-and-go traffic.

Possible routes to bypass I-35W include using Main Street out of downtown Fort Worth through the Stockyards to Loop 820.

Beach Street, Sylvania Avenue and Riverside Drive are decent options, especially if you want access to areas just north of Loop 820.

For those seeking an east-west alternative, consider Western Center Boulevard (which turns into Watauga Road and Mid-Cities Boulevard as it heads east).

For more information, go to www.northtarrantexpress.com, where you can view an Alternate Route Map.

The project

The North Tarrant Express I-35W project is a $1.4 billion effort to modernize the corridor from I-30 near downtown Fort Worth to just north of U.S. 287 near Heritage Trace Parkway. The stretch of freeway is one of the most congested in Texas, which is not news to anyone who drives it regularly.

The project, which will improve the main lanes and add toll lanes, is scheduled to be completed in 2018.

This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Road work to close parts of I-35W this weekend."