Saturday, May 26, 2007
Pothole on I-45 creates mega-traffic snarl for anyone headed south on Friday
Q: When's the worst time to do a repair on a major freeway? A: Friday afternoon on a 3-day holiday weekend when it's raining.
DALLAS — A little old pothole on Interstate 45 created a massive cluster**** that grinded southbound traffic to a halt all Friday afternoon and evening.
Compounding the traffic problem was the fact that it was raining buckets, and also that it's a three-day Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Genius highway crews started repairs on the pothole, on I-45 at Lamar Street, at 12:30 p.m., shutting down two southbound lanes to do it. But the rain kept the cement from drying, so the repair took all afternoon and into the evening.
Not only was I-45 a mess, so was any road headed south leading into I-45, including I-35 and I-75.
At 8:30 p.m., traffic was still backed up on southbound 75 all the way to Northwest Highway, 10 miles north of downtown.
Posted by T.G.
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okme2, says:
"Genius highway crews"... Enough said.
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Tracy Yost, says:
oh yeh. Entered central expressway at spring creek in plano at 3:10 pm. Got to downtown Dallas at 5:09pm.
Verified
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Teresa Gubbins, says:
i was trying to figure out what it was about this pothole that would make them decide they HAD to fix it on friday. the story sez the pothole was "2X4" which i guess = 2 feet by 4 feet? that does sound big. but it seems like they coulda done it the night before. or does a 2X4 pothole just sprout up overnight?
Staff
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
twisteddog, says:
Sounds more like a sinkhole than a pothole.
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
sisterhazel, says:
I saw a picture on the news, and it was a rectangular opening in the road on a bridge, sort of like a piece had fallen out. They had to attach plywood to the underside of the bridge in order to pour the concrete, so it sounds like it was open to underneath. Would have probably either caused a massive accident, or perhaps gotten worse.
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Lemastre, says:
". . . A little old pothole on Interstate 45 created a massive cluster[thing] that grinded southbound traffic to a halt all Friday afternoon and evening."
"Grinded"?! I finded it hard to believe that any reporter or editor would commit this goof. In fact, I still do.
Anonymous
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Lisa Lawrence Merritt, says:
I was caught in this mess trying to get Downtown and can tell anyone that historically all projects of this nature are always begun on Fridays of holiday weekends.
Always. (I think it's state law.)
LLM
Verified
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Dylan Cave, says:
I've always loved the term "shovel leaner". I have always been fascinated about how many workers always seem to be in a semi circle watching one or more others doing actual work. Amazing
Verified
2 years, 6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal