Texas

[CoreySamson]

TxDOT is currently renumbering the exits along I-27 between Amarillo and Lubbock... going up from the 100s to 500-600 mile range to account for the future southern extension of I-27 south of Lubbock.

Today, I took a drive on the full length of I-27 between Lubbock and Amarillo. The only exit numbers that were changed was from the I-40 interchange south to 45th Avenue, and the exit numbers south of 45th Avenue has NOT been changed yet.

Did you happen to see if the southern extension of I-27 to FM 1585 is signed yet?

[Great Lakes Roads]

TxDOT is currently renumbering the exits along I-27 between Amarillo and Lubbock... going up from the 100s to 500-600 mile range to account for the future southern extension of I-27 south of Lubbock.

Today, I took a drive on the full length of I-27 between Lubbock and Amarillo. The only exit numbers that were changed was from the I-40 interchange south to 45th Avenue, and the exit numbers south of 45th Avenue has NOT been changed yet.

Did you happen to see if the southern extension of I-27 to FM 1585 is signed yet?

Yes, I did, and... it's not signed as an extension of I-27.

[The Ghostbuster]

Here is an example of the new exit numbers on Interstate 27: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Amarillo,+TX/@35.1810178,-101.8393057,3a,75y,34.12h,90.83t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1snH1Pl9z-rIiBmHAD-LZ6Ew!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-0.8263696268911502%26panoid%3DnH1Pl9z-rIiBmHAD-LZ6Ew%26yaw%3D34.12195899451422!7i16384!8i8192!4m6!3m5!1s0x870148d4b245cf03:0xd0f3d11c6836d2af!8m2!3d35.2069816!4d-101.8320065!16zL20vMDEzbjYw?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTAwOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D.

[missxashlee]

That 114 freeway expansion opened up on the eastbound side today! WOW what a difference that makes.

[Plutonic Panda]

That 114 freeway expansion opened up on the eastbound side today! WOW what a difference that makes.

But wait I thought widening freeways doesn't help with traffic congestion!? lol I'm glad to see these traffic issues alleviated here it needed it.

[MaxConcrete]

That 114 freeway expansion opened up on the eastbound side today! WOW what a difference that makes.

Thanks for the update. I'm assuming the westbound main lanes are not yet open. (Or is the westbound side previously opened?)

Clarification is helpful so I can keep the affected page on DFWFreeways.com up-to-date.

[missxashlee]

That 114 freeway expansion opened up on the eastbound side today! WOW what a difference that makes.

Thanks for the update. I'm assuming the westbound main lanes are not yet open. (Or is the westbound side previously opened?)

Clarification is helpful so I can keep the affected page on DFWFreeways.com up-to-date.

WB bridge open only, from what I could tell. Will update if different after I drive home!

[missxashlee]

That 114 freeway expansion opened up on the eastbound side today! WOW what a difference that makes.

But wait I thought widening freeways doesn't help with traffic congestion!? lol I'm glad to see these traffic issues alleviated here it needed it.

I can't speak for the 7-9am commuters but I will say when I'm coming up to that area of my drive, it would get incredibly slow before the Litsey Rd. turn. It could take 3-5 light cycles to make it through 114/Litsey intersection. Today was a breeze!

[Chris]

I thought there was a thread about DFW road projects, but I can't find it anymore.

Anyway, they opened the eastbound main lanes of SH 199 across Lake Worth on October 7:

https://x.com/TxDOTFortWorth/status/1975233580855894268

I'm not sure if they also opened the main lanes west of the bridge. Openstreetmap doesn't show either of them open.

[74/171FAN]

I thought there was a thread about DFW road projects, but I can't find it anymore.

Anyway, they opened the eastbound main lanes of SH 199 across Lake Worth on October 7:

https://x.com/TxDOTFortWorth/status/1975233580855894268

I'm not sure if they also opened the main lanes west of the bridge. Openstreetmap doesn't show either of them open.

I cannot find it either, maybe it got deleted with all of the database mess or with the deletion of austrini's account.

[Plutonic Panda]

Some construction project updates across the state:

https://www.txdot.gov/about/newsroom/stories/txdot-marks-major-progress-across-texas-in-october.html

[Great Lakes Roads]

https://www.txdot.gov/projects/hearings-meetings/abilene/2025/i20-sweetwater-from-loop170-to-near-fm1856.html

TxDOT is looking to improve I-20 within the Sweetwater area. Rebuilds I-20 to a 3x3 with one-way frontage roads.

[CoreySamson]

https://www.txdot.gov/projects/hearings-meetings/abilene/2025/i20-sweetwater-from-loop170-to-near-fm1856.html

TxDOT is looking to improve I-20 within the Sweetwater area. Rebuilds I-20 to a 3x3 with one-way frontage roads.

I-20 needs a lot of work between Midland and Abilene from my experience. The ramp geometry and frontage road situation is dangerous in places. You see a lot of this.

[wxfree]

I saw a posting on TxDOT's Facebook page about the Statewide Planning Map's 20th birthday.  It's a weird thing to notice, the anniversary of a technical thing few people know about, but they've added some new features.  One is location information for the top 50 barbecue locations.  I noticed that a while back.  The story also mentions a Thanksgiving Day themed basemap, which I saw for the first time today.  It's another weird thing, but I guess it's festive and doesn't add any real cost or diminish functionality.  I don't know if this represents a new holiday themed display that will change with the calendar.  There's also a map display for night sky viewing, which has been there for a while now.

https://www.txdot.gov/about/newsroom/stories/txdot-map-leads-you-to-texas-bbq-and-stargazing-spots.html

[wxfree]

I just remembered the changes on the Statewide Planning Map and checked for the holiday theme.  The Thanksgiving basemap has been replaced by a "Happy Holidays" map.  It has green counties, red and white district boundaries, and pink and white (somewhat candy-cane-like) district labels.  The Interstate numbers are on calendars, I supposed like advent calendars (although I've never seen one with 820 days).  US Highway numbers are on calendars of different colors, FM/RMs are on gift boxes with ribbons, and state highways, including spurs and loops, are on something.  They look like apples dipped in something with berries put on top.  I can't tell what those things are, it must be a tradition I don't know about.

It appears the holiday maps will change seasonally, rather than being a one-time feature recognizing the birthday.  On the Christmas map, some of the lakes are not displayed in blue, but appear only as weird road-free areas.  If you zoom out, the adjoining states are in wrapping paper, while other states are covered in snowflakes.

[kphoger]

The Interstate numbers are on calendars, I supposed like advent calendars (although I've never seen one with 820 days).

I always forget:  what color candle do people traditionally light on the 104th Sunday of Advent?

[Bobby5280]

TxDOT is looking to improve I-20 within the Sweetwater area. Rebuilds I-20 to a 3x3 with one-way frontage roads.

They recently re-built the Y interchange with I-20 and US-84. But I-20 is only 2x2 lanes through the new interchange. The proposed 3x3 widening on I-20 would start just East of that interchange at the Loop 170 exit. I wonder why they didn't build I-20 in a 3x3 setup when they rebuilt that Y interchange. Once they finish the 3x3 work in other parts of Sweetwater they'll probably have to come back and widen I-20 thru that Y interchange. Quite a bit of truck traffic merges into I-20 at that point.

I-20 needs a lot of work between Midland and Abilene from my experience. The ramp geometry and frontage road situation is dangerous in places.

Those existing on/off ramps through that zone definitely suck. They're damned near as bad as some of the illegal looking ramps on I-25 in Southern Colorado. The ramps at Exit 106 on I-25 are pretty much hard 90 degree turns on/off the highway. That shit shouldn't even be there.

[ElishaGOtis]

How on EARTH did I miss this?

Effective September 1, 2025, pedestrians and any other users approaching or using a crosswalk are subject to (*checks notes*) an 8mph speed limit?  

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.552.htm#552.0035

Texas Transportation Code Section 552.0035 subsections (b) thru (c)

(b)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a sidewalk user may not suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and proceed into a crosswalk in the path of a vehicle so close that it is impossible for the vehicle operator to stop and yield.
(c)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a sidewalk user may not approach or enter a crosswalk at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the existing conditions and having regard for actual and potential existing hazards.  For the purposes of this subsection, a speed greater than eight miles per hour is prima facie evidence that the speed is not reasonable and prudent.

Subsection (b) is law in almost every state (and it's sensible imho), but it's subsection (c) that I find kinda unusual. I can kinda get this for bikes and e-bikes and all but... PEDESTRIANS??

There is also this new provision making pedestrians subject to stop signs, but it's not as unprecedented...

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.552.htm#552.0036

Texas Transportation Code Section 552.0036

A sidewalk user approaching an intersection with a stop sign shall:
(1)  stop before entering the crosswalk; and
(2)  after stopping, yield the right-of-way to a vehicle that:
   (A)  has entered the intersection; or
   (B)  is approaching the intersection so closely as to be an immediate hazard to the sidewalk user entering or moving across the crosswalk.

Y'all ever seen anything like this before?

[kphoger]

Effective September 1, 2025, pedestrians and any other users approaching or using a crosswalk are subject to (*checks notes*) an 8mph speed limit?  

Sounds like they codified the line between jogging and full-out running.

There is also this new provision making pedestrians subject to stop signs, but it's not as unprecedented ... Y'all ever seen anything like this before?

No, I haven't seen anything like that.  The UVC only says what vehicular traffic must do at stop signs, and pedestrians' obedience to stop control is only to "any official traffic-control device specifically applicable to such pedestrian".  Other than that, the law typically just says they can't suddenly leave the curb and become an unavoidable hazard.

[Plutonic Panda]

Texas releases a plan about new projects on the Mexico border: https://riograndeguardian.com/stories/txdot-gives-update-on-border-transportation-master-plan,52690

[kphoger]

Texas releases a plan about new projects on the Mexico border: https://riograndeguardian.com/stories/txdot-gives-update-on-border-transportation-master-plan,52690

Is it just me, or is that article totally lacking any details about the projects?

[KCRoadFan]

On my currently ongoing trip to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I noticed this past Friday - on my drive back to my Airbnb in North Dallas from a concert at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth - that on State Highway 183 in Irving near DFW Airport, there were still many signs in Highway Gothic (FHWA Series E). Before I took my trip, I thought that every freeway guide sign in Texas had been replaced by Clearview at this point, what with it now having been used in the state for more than 20 years (incidentally, the first time that I ever saw Clearview was on the Central Expressway in Dallas on a 2004 visit) - guess I was mistaken. That made me wonder: where else in Texas have you seen Highway Gothic freeway signage that still hasn't been replaced by Clearview as of now (or at least some time in 2025)?

[Road Hog]

On the DNT northbound there's an old "survivor" BGS at Gaylord Parkway that probably dates to 2003, which is when that part of the tollway was built.

[CoreySamson]

That made me wonder: where else in Texas have you seen Highway Gothic freeway signage that still hasn't been replaced by Clearview as of now (or at least some time in 2025)?

There's still a lot of Highway Gothic exit signs in the Houston area inside the 610 loop, particularly on I-45:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4VBnFvPDxhAfKhbv5
https://maps.app.goo.gl/dUG8ZRv9mDMauY5y7
And on I-69:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/spozbmfxWWsbPTDz7
And there are a lot on TX 225:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/rPSYUmdykVd2XSKf7

[djlynch]

There aren't many, but they're not extremely rare. I swear I remember being on some stretch of highway with relatively new FHWA signs because it happened to be due for sign replacement during the brief period between the experimental approval for Clearview being revoked and Congress overriding them.