Honkin' Mad

Texas Stadium ... Time to let 'er go

Just took a media tour of Texas Stadium. It was billed as the last public tour at the landmark stadium -- where, as fans like to say, God liked to watch his favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys, from the hole in the roof. The structure is scheduled to be imploded April 11, a Sunday morning.

Here are some pix from my cellphone, showing:

The famous hole in the roof 

Holes that have been drilled into the building's 388 columns to make way for explosive charges

A pair of shots from the lower level which is already partly covered in fill dirt.

And a pile of cinderblocks in the tunnel from which the players once emerged ...

Please take a moment and enjoy whatever memories you have of Texas Stadium ... before it looked like this.

G.

Whiskey flask in a company car

Just as Austin's new commuter rail service was making its debut, the local transit authority's safety officer was fired after a flask of bourbon was found in his company car. (Not the flask pictured)  

Steep fines for driving irresponsibly

Texans are pushing for an end to the Driver Responsibility program, which assesses steep fines for repeat violations.

More Texas 360 detours through Arlington this weekend

TxDOT will again be closing lanes and rerouting traffic on Texas 360 through Arlington this weekend, this time to place deck panels and plates on the new bridges at Division Street.

The work is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Friday and run through about 5 p.m. Saturday.

Northbound 360 traffic will be forced to exit at Abram Street. Southbound traffic must exit at Division.

Looks like these are the same detour rules used two weekends ago, also for bridge work.

Good luck to all!

Bus service cuts coming to Fort Worth

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority plans to cut bus trips to make up for a $1.9 million budget shortfall.

Children crossing the railroad tracks north of Tower 55

Years of efforts to fix railroad crossings in Fort Worth have fallen woefully short.

Richland Hills voters have buses, trains on their minds

Whether to remain in the Fort Worth Transportation Authority is emerging as a key issue in the Richland Hills city election.

I-35W lanes to be closed!

Commuters are used to being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Interstate 35W north of downtown Fort Worth during business hours. But this week, traffic is likely to be tied up at night as well.

The Texas Department of Transportation is warning motorists to expect various lane closures on northbound I-35W between Pharr Road and Basswood Boulevard, between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. through Thursday.

Crews are sealing cracks in the pavement, spokesman Val Lopez said.

“This is scheduled maintenance,” he said. “You’re trying to extend the life of the pavement, and add years to it, by filling the cracks to keep moisture out.”

The work generally must be done in dry weather.

Plans to perform the work beginning on Sunday night were postponed because of rain -- and it's looking like Monday night might be a washout, too.

But the forecast calls for seasonably warm and dry conditions Tuesday night – so if you’re planning to be traveling to the north part of Tarrant County that night, seek an alternate route.

-- G.

Juggling traffic on the DFW Connector

 Let's talk about lane closures and other potential traffic jammers on the massive makeover of Grapevine highways.

Avoid 360 this weekend!

Work on the Texas 360/Division Street interchange in Arlington has carried on for much of the past year with minimal interruption -- but that's about to change.

This weekend, for instance, motorists are urged to avoid the area altogether. Both directions of traffic on the notoriously crowded north-south freeway will be reduced to one lane from 8 p.m. Friday to 2 p.m. Sunday.

Traffic will be detoured off the main lanes as a safety precaution, while workers hang bridge beams over the freeway main lanes.

Northbound traffic will exit at Abram Street to Great Southwest Parkway and across the railroad tracks.

Southbound motorists will exit at Division Street to Stadium Drive and across the tracks.

The $56 million project includes rebuilding both the road and railroad bridges at Division Street and 360, as well as ramp and frontage road improvements. The work should be completed by 2012.

G.

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