April bid openings: $1.09 billion for I-35 in North Texas

[Plutonic Panda]

In a more literal sense the same argument often seems to be made for expanding I-15 from Barstow to Primm. Why should california pay for upgrading a highway that gets people out of the state to spend money. Well, my opinion is because they have an obligation to upgrade the road to keep traffic moving at acceptable levels and keep people on its roads as safe as possible whether they're residents or not.

[Rothman]

Time for this discussion to be locked ?! If any body is concerned about tax dollars being wasted, perhaps they should be concerned that their tax dollars are paying for D.O.T. Employees to hijack discussions, spread narratives and other oppositions, for the most childish of reasons. Keep your toxic attitudes off of here AND the roads.

Last I checked, DOT employees were still allowed to have a sense of humor, just like other human beings. But, thank you for the reminder that there are indeed people that do not detect irony, sarcasm, lightheartedness, or nuance out there.

Agreed, but it also seems like this is a running joke that is beaten to death and it isn't really funny or needed for a thread discussing a highway expansion in North Texas. Come up with something original.

And as for the thread being locked, I would think that would be a bit of an overkill.

It is a message board, and difficult to interpret comedy. If there was any smileys used, I did not notice them.

Also I am trying to figure out any possible justifiable reasons for these absurd reactions toward Oklahoma, which Texas has highways connected to. It seems that Nay Sayers on here are worried that Texas is paying for Oklahoma's Roads. I very much doubt such things actually occur.

The dangerous situations and traffic problems in for example Interstate 35 in Texas is absolutely nothing to joke about. Seeing fatalities, or otherwise traffic congestions in areas such as the main lanes and / or the Interchange Ramps ( which includes automobiles lined up in the shoulders ) I find very difficult to laugh.

The rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas is legendary, hence DNAGuy's snark and me running with it.  Don't forget the two states fought a war against each other. 

Worked with a guy from Norman that would have made similar snark about Texans coming northward.

It was just a fun, ridiculous premise.  Don't overthink it.

[hotdogPi]

I think DNAGuy was serious. Scott5114 says (not in this thread) he's not the only one with that belief.

[Bobby5280]

In a more literal sense the same argument often seems to be made for expanding I-15 from Barstow to Primm. Why should california pay for upgrading a highway that gets people out of the state to spend money. Well, my opinion is because they have an obligation to upgrade the road to keep traffic moving at acceptable levels and keep people on its roads as safe as possible whether they're residents or not.

Just in case any lawmakers from California forgot, it's the INTERSTATE highway system. It's supposed to be a NATIONAL highway network rather than a bunch of different local roads poorly stitched together. A great deal of the traffic is commercial in nature, travels great distances and does cross state lines.

I've seen plenty of the Oklahoma vs Texas jokes and rivalry -largely influenced by the college football thing. It kind of sucks both OU and UT are going to the SEC rather than just one school or the other. The rivalry will remain intact along with all the tired bullshit connected to it.

Currently, I-35 drops down to just 2 lanes in each direction just North of the US-380 exit in Denton. That's ridiculous. I-35 should have already been 3x3 lanes from the I-35E/W split up to the Red River a long time ago. Some of these current 2-lane sections need to be expanded to at least 4 lanes. In Denton I-35 probably needs to be at least a 5x5 arrangement leading into the E/W split, if not even wider. I-35 construction in Gainesville is an example of playing catch-up.

ODOT expanded I-35 to 3 lanes in each direction from the Red River up to Rogers Road in Thackerville -largely to improve traffic movement to casinos. Plenty of space is available in the median to add additional lanes when needed. Most of the casino customers at places like WinStar are from Texas. Those casinos tend to provide more benefit to tribes (and "white" investors) than they do the state of Oklahoma. ODOT widened the road anyway because traffic is still traffic no matter what license plates are on the vehicles. It's a safety issue.

[J N Winkler]

I've personally never found I-35 over the Red River to be intolerably congested, but it does carry significant volumes for a rural Interstate, and the northern of the two projects under discussion will finally remove the 45 MPH advisory curve at the south end of the bridge.  I've always found it ironic that drivers on this route have to slow down when entering the state that has 75 MPH speed limits on two-lane rural highways.

In a more literal sense the same argument often seems to be made for expanding I-15 from Barstow to Primm. Why should California pay for upgrading a highway that gets people out of the state to spend money. Well, my opinion is because they have an obligation to upgrade the road to keep traffic moving at acceptable levels and keep people on its roads as safe as possible whether they're residents or not.

I suspect California's hands may be tied since there is no plausible way to argue that a project adding lanes to I-15 won't increase VMT and thus be forbidden under current state law.