A year-long construction roadblock began Thursday on Hillcrest Road, a main thoroughfare in North Dallas.
DART’s 27-mile Silver Line, under construction between Plano and DFW Airport, is due to open in late 2025.
The closure just south of McCallum Boulevard is to build a Hillcrest Road underpass beneath the Silver Line.
A community meeting about the project was scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Anne Frank Elementary School, 5201 Celestial Road, just off Montford and south of Beltline Road in North Dallas.
The Silver Line segment through North Dallas runs right between homes, where residents who wanted it buried in a tunnel instead, now have new construction detour concerns.
“These streets are not built for the traffic that is going to come through due to the construction,” resident Jocelyn Ickes said.
Alternate routes will be required for the year of underpass construction, but DART Spokesman Gordon Shattles said the complete closure will boost safety and reduce construction time.
“A lot of people drive on Hillcrest. A lot of people live in the neighborhood. To be able to speed up the process and ensure safety while construction is underway, we’re closing the entire section for 1 year,” Shattles said. “Please be careful. Take a little extra time. Drive a little slower.”
Neighborhood Dallas City Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn said alternate routes like Coit Road already have rail construction obstacles, too.
“We’ve got 17,000 cars that traditionally use Hillcrest Road at that location that are going to be traveling a different route,” Mendelsohn said.
Another neighbor concern is police and firefighters who normally rely on Hillcrest for emergency response.
The Dallas Police North Central Substation is located at the Hillcrest and McCallum Boulevard intersection which is closed. A Dallas Fire Rescue Station is just up Hillcrest from the closure.
“I will say DPD and DFR have worked closely with them and their electronic modeling will help rescue vehicles get where they need to go as fast as possible,” Mendelsohn said.
Shattles said DART has also worked to address flooding concerns from neighbors who complained there was no redundant pump capability planned for the underpass.
“There are three pumps, two will constantly be available, a third in case of emergency, and will immediately drain that area,” Shattles said.
Unlike some construction projects that will benefit neighbors when completed, Ickes said the Silver Line stations are far away and will not likely be used by immediate neighbors.
“The train will not be beneficial to our neighborhood at all,” Ickes said.
A hike and bike path will be included in the finished project along what once was the Cotton Belt Rail line.
“And what I’ve said over and over, there will be more people using the Cotton Belt hike and bike trail than there will be sitting on the train,” Mendelsohn said.
The critics claim demand will be weak, but DART says the Silver Line is coming.
Completion is expected in late 2025.