The History of IH 35E and US 67

Interstate Highway 35 East was constructed in the late 1950's through the early 1960's as part of the interstate highway system developing throughout the United States. IH 35 extends from Mexico to Canada and is a vital corridor for intrastate, interstate and international movement of people and goods. In the Dallas/Fort Worth area, IH 35 splits into two separate legs - IH 35E through Dallas and IH 35W through Fort Worth. In southern Dallas County, the focus area for this study, the interstate was built partially on the existing US 77 alignment (south of the US 67 merge) and partially on land acquired by the state of Texas.

The current US 67 freeway was upgraded, connecting Dallas to Midlothian and points south and west. This upgrade was completed to accommodate the expanding population and commerce in southwest Dallas County and in Ellis County.

More recent construction in the area has involved the addition of interim High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes along IH 35E and US 67 from downtown Dallas south to IH 20. These HOV lanes, built through a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) partnership, will provide immediate relief to a portion of the current congestion along these highways, especially during peak hours. However, these HOV lanes were only designed to be an interim answer to a complete transportation solution.

Just south of the project area along IH 35E, The Texas Department of Transportation is completing highway capacity improvements (construction) from IH 20 south to Parkerville Road.