Interstate 345

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Unsigned highway in Texas

title: "Interstate 345" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["interstate-45", "unsigned-auxiliary-interstate-highways", "auxiliary-interstate-highways", "highways-in-dallas"] description: "Unsigned highway in Texas" topic_path: "general/interstate-45" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_345" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Unsigned highway in Texas ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox road"]

FieldValue
stateTX
typeI
route345
map
map_customyes
map_notesCentral Dallas with I-345 highlighted in red
length_mi1.4
length_ref
established
spur_typeI
spur_of45
direction_aSouth
terminus_ain Dallas
direction_bNorth
terminus_bin Dallas
countiesDallas
previous_typeTX
previous_route344
next_typeTX
next_route345
::

|state=TX |type=I |route=345 |map= |map_custom=yes |map_notes=Central Dallas with I-345 highlighted in red |length_mi=1.4 |length_round= |length_ref= |established= |spur_type=I |spur_of=45 |direction_a=South |terminus_a= in Dallas |direction_b=North |terminus_b= in Dallas |counties=Dallas |previous_type=TX |previous_route=344 |next_type=TX |next_route=345 Interstate 345 (I-345) is an unsigned 1.4 mi Auxiliary Interstate Highway in the city of Dallas within the US state of Texas. It is a freeway that connects I-45 (which ends at the interchange with I-30) with U.S. Highway 75 (US 75; North Central Expressway) at State Highway Spur 366 (Spur 366; Woodall Rodgers Freeway). Few maps actually display the road as I-345; signposts on the road show US 75 northbound, while southbound the highway is signed as I-45. In recent years, a debate over whether to maintain or decommission I-345 has received increased attention from several Dallas media outlets. TxDOT elected to maintain the freeway by lowering it below ground and removing frontage roads.

Route description

I-345 serves as the connection between I-45 and the North Central Expressway (US 75). It starts at the junction of I-45 and I-30, passes by Downtown Dallas, and connects to US 75 at the Spur 366 junction. The entire stretch of I-345 is elevated allowing for better connections between Downtown Dallas and Deep Ellum.

Although I-345 uses its own mileposts, the exit numbering is not consistent. The exit numbers on the northbound stretch count upward from the I-45 numbers (the exit for Spur 366 being labeled as exit 286A), while, on the southbound stretch, the Spur 366 exit is numbered exit 1A, followed by the exit for Ross Avenue numbered exit 285.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Dallas,_Texas_1955_Yellow_Book.jpg" caption="Yellow Book]]" plan for Interstates in Dallas"] ::

In 1964, I-345, extending I-45 north along the proposed Central Expressway bypass, was added as a proposed state highway. Because of their location, these two bridges were not replaced in the 1990s reconstruction of the North Central Expressway and are the only surviving grade separations from the initial construction north from downtown.

Future

There has recently been a growing level of local news coverage of a proposal to completely remove I-345 and decommission it from the Interstate Highway System due to the fact that the Interstate separates the Downtown Dallas and Deep Ellum neighborhoods.

The proposal would demolish the elevated structure, but, instead of replacing it with a below-grade structure (similar to that of Woodall Rogers), it would be replaced with an at-grade parkway and reconnected streets (some of which are disconnected by the current structure).

Media outlets, including The Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Observer, and D Magazine, first discussed the proposal in 2012 and 2013.

In February 2014, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced plans to spend $100 million (equivalent to $ in ) to repair the existing I-345 structure, but Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings responded by saying that the decommissioning/removal alternative should be further considered before any repair. After further investigation, Rawlings concluded that repairs should proceed in advance of a study and decision on the fate of the road.

In April 2014, Michael Morris, the transportation director of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, created controversy by suggesting that proponents of the decommissioning/removal are predominantly white, wealthy, and do not live in the area near I-345, as opposed to predominantly Black-American, working class, South Dallas residents that could be affected by the decommissioning/removal. Morris later apologized for his comments.

With its May 2014 issue, D Magazine became the first major local news publication to endorse the decommissioning/removal proposal.

In September 2016, TxDOT published the CityMAP Assessment Report, which included an analysis of the effects of highway removal on the I-345 corridor.

In April 2021, the Toole Design Group created a draft report to further study the impacts of the changes in mobility from the highway removal; the draft report was presented to Dallas city council.

In August 2022, TxDOT released the findings a feasibility study that was started in April 2018 that analyzed the future of I-345. The study analyzed five alternatives on what to do with the right-of-way of the interstate. The study concluded that depressing the freeway below grade and removing frontage roads would best fall in line with the CityMAP report. The alternative was also chosen due to the potential capping areas that were identified as being ways to link communities that were separated by I-345's construction. In May 2023, the Dallas City Council unanimously approved TxDOT's "refined hybrid" option that would rebuild I-345 as a depressed freeway traveling below street level with no frontage roads. The project entered its schematic and environmental phase in Summer 2023; the environmental assessment is expected to be submitted and approved by Spring 2025. Ceason Clemens, TxDOT's district engineer for Dallas, predicted it would take four to five years to secure funding then another five years for construction, with initial estimates putting construction costs at $1.65 billion.

Exit list

|type= |mile=0.00 |mspan=2 |exit= |road= |notes=Continuation south |type= |mile=none |exit=284A |road= |notes=Exits 46-47B on I-30 |type=incomplete |mile=0.47 |exit=284B |espan=2 |road=Main Street west / Elm Street |notes=Northbound exit and southbound entrance |type=incomplete |mile=0.81 |road=Live Oak Street |notes=Southbound exit only |type=incomplete |mile=0.96 |mile2=1.23 |mspan=3 |exit=284C |road=Bryan Street east |notes=Northbound exit only |type=incomplete |mile=none |exit=285 |road=Good-Latimer Expressway – Downtown |notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance |type=incomplete |exit=285 |mile=none |road=Ross Avenue |notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance |type= |mile=1.42 |mspan=2 |exit=286A (NB) 1A (SB) |road= |notes=Access via Spur 366 (Woodall Rodgers Freeway) |type= |mile=none |exit= |road= |notes=Continuation north

Notes

References

References

  1. {{TxDOT. IH. 345
  2. Transportation Planning and Programming Division. (n.d.). "Highway Designations Glossary". Texas Department of Transportation.
  3. (January 13, 2007}}{{self-published source). "Interstate 345 Texas". AA Roads Interstate Guide.
  4. (August 19, 1984). "North Central Turns 35 Today". [[The Dallas Morning News]].
  5. (2006). "Structure Type by Year Built". [[Federal Highway Administration]].
  6. (April 22, 2014). "Why We Must Tear Down I-345".
  7. Lindenberger, Michael. (May 3, 2012). "A toll road foe's challenge to Mayor Rawlings: Build your road, but tear down I-345, too". The Dallas Morning News.
  8. Wilonsky, Robert. (December 12, 2012). "At TxDOT hearing, leaving comments and making the case for tearing down highway separating Deep Ellum, downtown". [[The Dallas Morning News]].
  9. Wilonsky, Robert. (May 27, 2013). "Update: As debate revs up, a site launches to make the case for tearing down freeway separating downtown, Deep Ellum". The Dallas Morning News.
  10. Nicholson, Eric. (November 27, 2012). "TxDOT Wondering What to Do With Bridge Between I-30 and Woodall Rodgers. (Hint: They're Not Going to Tear It Down)". [[Dallas Observer]].
  11. Nicholson, Eric. (May 28, 2013). "The Push to Tear Down I-345 Gains Steam". Dallas Observer.
  12. Kennedy, Patrick. (January 21, 2013). "How Dallas is Throwing Away $4 Billion". [[D Magazine]].
  13. Wilonsky, Robert. (February 10, 2014). "Memo: With Interstate 345 staying (until at least 2040), Dallas is ready to design downtown's Carpenter Park". The Dallas Morning News.
  14. Wilonsky, Robert. (February 12, 2014). "TxDOT has decided to keep the highway separating Deep Ellum and downtown, but Mayor Rawlings hasn't". The Dallas Morning News.
  15. Jones, Rodger. (April 2, 2014). "Complete statement from Mayor Rawlings on tearing down I-345". The Dallas Morning News.
  16. Formby, Brandon. (April 3, 2014). "Transportation official: I-345 debate pushed by the wealthy, misses voices of the poor". The Dallas Morning News.
  17. Wilonsky, Robert. (April 9, 2014). "NCTCOG transpo director Michael Morris apologizes for dismissing I-345 teardown proponents as 'white,' 'wealthy'". The Dallas Morning News.
  18. Allison, Wick. (May 2014). "How to Build Another Uptown". [[D Magazine]].
  19. "DALLASCITYMAP.COM".
  20. (2021-04-15). "A New Plan for Tearing Down I-345".
  21. Collins, Nathan. (May 25, 2023). "‘It’s never going to stop being a highway’: Dallas City Council approves thorny I-345 plan". [[KERA (FM).
  22. "I-345 Feasibility Study". Texas Department of Transportation.
  23. Peña, Pablo Arauz. (October 16, 2024). "Plans move forward to replace I-345 near Deep Ellum with underground highway". KERA.
  24. Gaudet, Amber. (April 23, 2025). "Dallas' $1.65 billion plan to rebuild Interstate 345 is still unfunded". [[Dallas Morning News]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

interstate-45unsigned-auxiliary-interstate-highwaysauxiliary-interstate-highwayshighways-in-dallas