The Sylvan Avenue bridge into Oak Cliff is closed. The I-30/I-35 corridor Horseshoe is about to become an unrelenting helltrap of traffic. Union Pacific is routing cars and trucks all over West Dallas so it can perform track maintenance. So what’s closing one more entry point into Oak Cliff gonna do? From Roy Appleton:
 Come March 11, there will be one fewer option for crossing the Trinity River in Dallas. The city will close the Houston Street Viaduct that Monday for construction of the downtown-Oak Cliff streetcar line.
Work has begun underneath the bridge. The system must be operating by Oct. 31, 2014, under terms of the federal grant that is funding more than half of the $48 million project. During construction, traffic will be rerouted from the Houston bridge to the nearby Jefferson Boulevard Viaduct, which will become two-way.
The Houston crossing now carries traffic from downtown to Oak Cliff, while traffic runs the opposite direction on Jefferson. Once the streetcar line is operating, the century-old Houston Street Viaduct will reopen to other traffic, said Keith Manoy, the city’s chief transportation planner.
It’s good news for the city, and for folks west of the Trinity. But these next couple of years are going to be a bear.
