Grapevine drivers are expressing frustration with traffic changes at the SH 121/I-635 interchange. TxDOT says the lane changes were made in October to improve safety. NBC 5’s Tahera Rahman says many drivers feel it’s had the opposite impact and they have suggestions to make the split safer.
A split along Highway 121 and Interstate 635, just north of DFW International Airport, has lots of Grapevine drivers griping.
"It's such a mess in that area now," said Anish Jose, who passes through the area once a day, five days a week.
In October, TxDOT expanded a white-striped buffer zone at the split, essentially taking away a lane, to improve safety.
"To enhance safety and help drivers merge at this location, the painted gore was extended farther back on Oct. 13," said Val Lopez III, a TxDOT spokesperson for the region.
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According to Grapevine Police, accidents in the area have increased over the last couple of years, from just 27 in 2022 to 102 so far this year.
But Jose and others say TxDOT's move has made traffic worse.
"Considerably worse to the point where you think that there's an accident on the road because of how backed up it is and how long it's getting to that area," he said.
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Kevin Symons, who lives in the area and passes through the split several times a day, agreed.
"You just don't know when traffic is going to move normally or there's going to be a lot of sudden stops because people are moving over at the last minute. And all that sudden stop is causing the backup to go further and further back," he said.
They and other drivers said it's even causing traffic during non-peak hours.
"I usually leave my house around 6:00 a.m. - 6:15 a.m., and at that time it's already well backed up," said another commuter, Fidel Portillo.
His coworker, Mary Seltzer, agreed.
"Since they've made that change, I just have to plan extra for that time because I know it gets more congested," Seltzer said.
They said it's not just adding minutes to their commute, but causing more erratic driving.
"Now, people are so frustrated. They're cutting people off. They're driving on the service road. They're going over to the right lane and trying to cut to the very front and cut over as fast as they can," Jose said. "It's so much more dangerous than it used to be to drive through that split, and it's been so frustrating."
“To me, it feels unsafe enough to the point where I would just try to avoid it as much as I can," said Symons.
TxDOT did not answer NBC 5's questions about if they have data that shows whether their changes have resulted in improved safety.
In an email to NBC 5, Lopez said additional signage was installed over the weekend to help guide drivers, and the agency plans to put in more signage before the merge this month.
Drivers NBC 5 spoke with want TxDOT to reverse.
“It's just a matter of acknowledging that the traffic has not improved at all, and they can just kind of... undo this and kind of get it back to a little bit of a more smooth traffic pattern," Symons said.
"I'd like them to reevaluate their decision on just closing a perfectly functioning lane," Portillo said.
Lopez said the buffer change is permanent, but that they continue to work with the City of Grapevine to monitor the area.
"TxDOT continues to monitor the location with a combination of technologies, including traffic cameras and speed sensors. This additional data will be used to evaluate enhancements to safety," he said.
