Rail bridge problem delays opening of Alliance highway near far north Fort Worth
The Texas Department of Transportation has once again postponed the full opening of several new lanes along Texas 170 after engineers raised alarm over the condition of a railroad walkway traversing the road.
Last week, TxDOT officials shared “concerns about ballast falling from a railroad bridge’s walkway” with Union Pacific, according to a company spokesperson. The rail conglomerate says it is “working expeditiously with TxDOT to design and implement a plan” to address the matter; it doesn’t have a timeline for the fix.
Meanwhile, road renovations already a year overdue will remain inaccessible to commuters crisscrossing the bustling Alliance corridor from west to east.
AllianceTexas, the Hillwood-owned master planned community that spans vast clumps of land in between Haslet, Roanoke, and Elizabethtown, announced Feb. 6 that the new mainlanes connecting Old Denton Road and Texas 114 would open later that day.
The hopes of thousands of commuters craving relief from years of congestion were quickly dashed. Striped plastic barricades still cordon off new stretches of road, all within view of columns of traffic that lumber past during rush hour.
Whether portions of the road will open while Union Pacific conducts its inspection is unclear. TxDOT expected to wrap up finishing touches for the highway by this summer. The agency did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
