Media Relations Contact:
Morgan Lyons

December 31, 2001

Starting January 2

Highway Construction Prompts Changes in HOV Operation

A section of the I-35E/US 67 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane between Louisiana Ave. and Loop 12 will be closed starting January 2 as construction of the region's newest HOV lane enters its final stages.

The full 11-mile project connecting downtown Dallas and I-20 is scheduled to open in early 2002. Portions of the lane opened between Camp Wisdom Road and Loop 12 in June 2000. The portion being closed began providing southbound service only during weekday afternoons in August 2000.

LBJ Update
Portions of the I-635 LBJ HOV lanes will be closed as construction of the High Five interchange begins. The eastbound HOV lane will be closed between Hillcrest and Coit during the scheduled five-year construction project. The rest of the lane will remain open as usual.

DART operates 23 miles of HOV lanes in four traffic corridors in the DART Service Area: East R.L. Thornton Freeway (I-30), Stemmons Freeway (I-35E, north of LBJ Freeway), LBJ Freeway, between North Central Expressway and Stemmons, and South R.L. Thornton/Marvin D. Love Freeway (I-35E/US 67) south of downtown Dallas. More than 105,000 commuters travel in DART HOV lanes each workday.

-- 30 --