ChopperChip's Blog

An overturned tanker truck is the culprit on I-35E southbound at State School Road.  The driver of the big rig is OK but had to wait a good 20 minutes or so before first responders could get him out.   PLEASE steer clear of this area unless you like driving on the service road at about five miles per hour.  It also appears the northbound side will have to shut down completely before the situation improves.  My bet is it will be at least 10 this morning before this wreck clears.

That's the order of the day (1/5/09).  The signal lights are all out on Coit Road through Richardson up to Frankford and the intersection of Oak Lawn at Wycliff are out as well. 

I-30 is in recovery mode in the Fair Park Curve around Carroll Avenue.  A wreck there smashed into the HOV wall, but the damage appears to be superficial. 

Over in Tarrant county, traffic is stacked up on westbound I-30 heading past 360 due to trouble in the right lane and northbound traffic on I-35W is a mess due to a wreck  at Sycamore School Road. 

Good Luck and stay safe out there.  I don't want to talk about you next!

Wow!  Did I pick a crazy first day to come back from vacation or what?!?  First off, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.  Now on to the serious matters. 

So far this morning we've had wrecks at the north end of the D-FW airport and several cars have spun out on I-35E.  If you live in an area where the temps are above 32 degrees, DON'T assume you're fine.  The rain is bringing all the oil and grime to the surface making the roadways just as treacherous.  If I were you just coming back from holiday, I'd wait one more day.

I've been blogging for the last week or so about Christmas light displays in the area and then I stumbled upon this website.  It's http://www.guidelive.com/feature/326/ and if you click on it you will find entry upon entry of great places to view Christmas lights.  As for me and my family, we'll be checking out the displays starting tomorrow when I start a much needed vacation!  An old friend will be in the studio in my place. 

I wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Here's some info regarding another promising light display out in Haslet.   Here's more:

Fire House Christmas is "...the installation of a computer-controlled Christmas light show at a D.R. Horton model home located in Haslet’s Dorado Ranch subdivision.  Residents and visitors alike will find tens of thousands of lights synchronized to an energetic set of today’s holiday music favorites.  The light show took nearly 100 hours to create and will run through the first week of January 2009.

The Dorado Ranch light show benefits the North Texas Food Bank.

The light show is located at 10701 Hawks Landing in the Dorado Ranch subdivision – just off Highway 287 and Bonds Ranch Rd. in Haslet.  Show times are Sunday through Thursday 6pm-10pm and Friday and Saturday from 6pm-12am.  Admission is free.  If you enjoy the display, please consider making a donation of non-perishable food items to NTFB.  Donations can be left in the box in front of the display.

Visit www.firehousechristmaslighting.com for more information."

Enjoy the display!

If you're looking for a nice display for family viewing in Dallas, try cruising through the Village area.  The group of apartments in the area bordered by Northwest HIghway, Skillman, Lovers Lane and Greenville Avenue is decked to the "9's" again.  The best road to take through the area is Southwestern Blvd. and it winds wistfully through the festive atmosphere.  Just about every tree is adorned with lights and there are other kid friendly displays throughout the journey.  There are no restrictions to my knowledge as far as passing through, but make sure if you're driving slowly to stay in the right lane at all times.

Just thought we'd give you a few more ideas if you're looking for Christmas light displays around the metroplex.  I know just the place if you want to see 130,000 lights twinkle in unison!

No fire station gets into the holiday spirit more than the firefighters in The Colony at Central Fire Station #1.  Drivers at intersection of Blair Oaks and S. Colony have been able to enjoy the light display since last weekend.  Not only are there lights, but there's also a music track you can listen to on 99.9 FM in your car as you pass by.  Better yet, you can park accross the street and catch the entire program that runs from dusk (around 5:30) until 10 pm every day until New Years Day. The fire station is located about a mile north of Highway 121.  If you want more information, check out www.colonychristmasspectacular.com

Everybody needs one.  From football players to average Joe's like me, "friendly reminders" meant to encourage and inspire can help shake us out of the dolldrums.  Today it's my turn to deliver the address.  My focus?  Water sprinklers!!

It's that time of year where temperatures creep down below the freezing line.  Please, please, PLEASE remember that when programming your automatic sprinklers!!  There were a half-dozen areas in Dallas alone today (12/11) where drivers got an unexpected "surprise" on an otherwise dry night/early morning.  More than one crash too!  Now get on out there and check out that timer.  Are you with me?!?  Let's go!!!!

Sleet and snow flurries flying around the house last night really brought the reality home for me.  Christmas is two weeks away!!  That set me off on a traffic tangent (happens all the time!) regarding Christmas displays and their ramifications on the roads.  With that said, for the next couple of weeks I'll be blogging about organized light displays in the area that you might want to visit and the ground rules regarding the traffic flow.  The first place to start?  Interlochen in Arlington!!!  The lines will start forming on Saturday the 13th to view the wondrous display.  Here's the best info I could find from the Arlington city website:

More than 200 Interlochen homeowners adorn their homes and property with festive lights and holiday-themed displays. From 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. through Christmas Day, this northwest Arlington neighborhood is a popular holiday attraction for thousands.
To help facilitate safe travel through the area, the Arlington Police Department has established neighborhood traffic control posts.  Motorists must enter Interlochen as follows: 

Entrance and Exit Routes:

• Enter the Interlochen neighborhood from Westwood Drive at Randol Mill Road.
• From I-30, take the Fielder Road exit and go south to Randol Mill Road. Turn right on Randol Mill Road and follow it to Westwood Drive.
• From I-30, take the Eastchase Parkway exit, turn east on Meadowbrook Boulevard to Randol Mill Road, then right on Randol Mill Road to Westwood Drive.
• All other streets to the Interlochen neighborhood are closed. Left turns are prohibited from northbound Bowen at Westwood and at Westwood and Crowley. No U-turns are allowed at Westwood and Findlay. Tour buses and limousines will not be allowed on Porto Bello Court.

Before you go! Safety Tips:

• Traffic must keep right at all times, leaving the left lane open for emergency vehicles and Interlochen homeowners.
• Adults and children must be properly secured by safety belts and child safety seats.
• Visit during the week. Weekends are the highest traffic-volume days.
• Pack a little patience. Traveling through the area could be slow.
• Pedestrian traffic is permitted. Roller skating in the street is prohibited by the Arlington Municipal Code. No solicitation or sales by any vendors or group will be allowed from any public roadway or public rights-of-way.

And a big "tip of the hat"  goes to one of my good friends who called me yesterday and alerted me to this issue.  If you live or travel on FM 157 at Trinity Boulevard, then you know that area can be a "black hole."  Here's what I mean:  It's an intersection just south of the Euless city limit line in a small finger of northeast Fort Worth.  The signals have been flashing red in all directions since yesterday morning, but no one laid claim to the problem until late Monday!

Here's where it gets worse.  Once the utility crews assessed the situation, they realized that it will take awhile to fix the problem.  So what does that mean for you?  Simply steer clear of the intersection or plan for it to take longer than normal to make it through that intersection.  The signal trouble won't be back to normal until late this week at best.

****Make that HAD a problem!  The crews finished the problem just before 4 this afternoon.  What a deal!!

Folks have been calling and blogging on a regular basis regarding the barrels up on 75 Central from Bethany in Allen down to Parker Road in Plano.  The main query has been, "Why are lanes blocked?"  If you haven't blogged in yet about it but were curious,  you will have a visible answer by Monday.  PLEASE MAKE NOTE OF THIS!!  Central will be SHUT DOWN in the southbound direction on Sunday 12/7 from 10:30 until 6 Monday morning as stage one of the Parker overhead bridge demolition work begins in earnest.   Unfortunately it will get worse before it gets better.

Okay....back from a lovely Thanksgiving holiday and it's back to the grind!  Speaking of which....

Work from the Firewheeel Town Center to I-30 is underway!   This final segment on the east side through Garland will stretch nearly 10 miles and finally bring the project to an end by the year 2011.  Here's the kicker when I read the update on the NTTA info sheet....

The now embodiment of the once envisioned project came about in.......

Anyone?  Anyone??

The 1960's!

Oh, and in case you were interested, the cost to finish this segment is a cool one BILLION dollars (you can now put your pinkie finger up to your mouth)!!

First off...my wish for you is to have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I hope over the years you have found this blog to be helpful as well as a place to vent your frustrations and offer up possible remedies in this massive driving area some call the metroplex.  Here's one thing I'm thankful for when it comes to the highways:

I can't say enough about the brave men and women that work for the courtesy patrol.  It's a job that's far from glamorous and they sure don't do it for the money!  They are unsung heroes in my book and I'm grateful for their tireless effort! 

As you drive to grandma's house or wherever you're going to celebrate the holiday, what strikes you as something you're thankful for?  It can be about the roads, folks that work the roadways, construction crews, you name it!  I can't wait to read your comments.