Per NBC DFW: A "mass casualty incident" on Interstate 35W just north of downtown Fort Worth,

[tcudoc]

121 was going to have a flyover connection to 30 but the city basically cried about a flyover hurting downtown views and TxDot nixed the idea early on.

Yet, they allowed that tacky Top Golf to be built right by the river at I-35 and 121.
That seems to have ruined one of the most beautiful views of downtown FW.

 

[Dogfrog]

I like the express lanes as it saves me time.

I fully agree the whole 35w expansion was a waste of time/money if they didn't expand the free lanes. I cross the 121/35w to 30 every day and I still don't understand the engineers logic on the construction. 121 was going to have a flyover connection to 30 but the city basically cried about a flyover hurting downtown views and TxDot nixed the idea early on.

It is like the Fort Worth Division of TxDot is always playing behind in every decision for a $ contract of toll roads run by a foreign company at the expense of the majority of the population.

Is local DOT office also responsible for hazard mitigation on interstates?

 

[Pharm Frog]

Yet, they allowed that tacky Top Golf to be built right by the river at I-35 and 121.
That seems to have ruined one of the most beautiful views of downtown FW.

This is the type of weather that destroyed the Top Golf in north OKC/Edmond. Frozen precipitation on the nets and the whole thing caved in.

 

[AroundWorldFrog]

Makes you wonder if he applied his brakes well before this but the ice wouldn’t allow him to slow down at all.

If he did, he was going way the hell too fast.

 

[Salfrog]

I like the express lanes as it saves me time.

I fully agree the whole 35w expansion was a waste of time/money if they didn't expand the free lanes. I cross the 121/35w to 30 every day and I still don't understand the engineers logic on the construction. 121 was going to have a flyover connection to 30 but the city basically cried about a flyover hurting downtown views and TxDot nixed the idea early on.

It is like the Fort Worth Division of TxDot is always playing behind in every decision for a $ contract of toll roads run by a foreign company at the expense of the majority of the population.

My oldest brother worked for Tx DOT several years ago, at least I think it was them, and helped with the design of freeways. He quit after a few years because, as he put it, most of the engineers there were from A&M and they were the dumbest group of idiots he had ever worked with. He said you couldn't tell or suggest anything to them because they thought everyone else was stupid & beneath them if they didn't graduate from Aggieland. This clusterfudge at I-35W, 30, and 121 is a great example of that Aggie engineering.

 

[jack the frog]

wow, semi going way too fast to begin with

Later in the video you see two other vehicles just above the highway divider level plow into the back of the Fed Ex truck at what appears to be full speed. Just ice skating at that point I suspect. Everybody just going way too fast. Terrible.

 

[Horny 4 Life]

Jeebus that makes me sick to my stomach.

My first winter in Fort Worth was also the first winter of my life that I was concerned about driving in bad weather. Coming from PA I was pretty confident in my ability to handle snow/sleet/ice but after witnessing the natives driving in the snow, I did my best to avoid going out in the bad weather.

 

[Paul in uhh]

I like the express lanes as it saves me time.

I fully agree the whole 35w expansion was a waste of time/money if they didn't expand the free lanes. I cross the 121/35w to 30 every day and I still don't understand the engineers logic on the construction. 121 was going to have a flyover connection to 30 but the city basically cried about a flyover hurting downtown views and TxDot nixed the idea early on.

It is like the Fort Worth Division of TxDot is always playing behind in every decision for a $ contract of toll roads run by a foreign company at the expense of the majority of the population.

I recall being very disappointed when all that was opened. It was no different than it was before except for the addition of the express lane on ramps.

 

[StigFrog]

Where that pile up happened is downhill from 28th St to Northside Dr. Down hill on ice and no one could stop. The FedEx truck was going way too fast along with everyone else in the Express lanes. FedEx was probably 60,000 to 70,000 lbs at the most.
Pretty sure I saw the northbound lanes treated there Monday afternoon.
SLOW DOWN!

 

[bmoney214]

[ What the heck? ] was that guy doing?? Doesn't look like he tried to slow down at all.

 

[Horny 4 Life]

[ What the heck? ] was that guy doing?? Doesn't look like he tried to slow down at all.

If you listen to the audio you can faintly hear the tires squealing and in a different video you can hear the same noise and see the trailer swing out of the lane and into the other lane. He was clearly trying to stop, but the conditions weren't going to allow for that.

Situations like this are why I never use no-shoulder express lanes in winter time bad weather. There is no good escape route in the car or on foot.

 

[gohornedfrogs]

I’ve lived in PA for thirty years. Driving on snow is not that difficult. Just go very slow.

There is no such thing as driving on ice, though. We don’t get ice here because salt trucks get ahead of it. Texas is a disaster waiting to happen when you get freezing weather and precipitation. Bridges freeze first because they don’t retain the earth’s heat.

That’s some scary stuff.

 

[Zubaz]

I’ve lived in PA for thirty years. Driving on snow is not that difficult. Just go very slow.

There is no such thing as driving on ice, though. We don’t get ice here because salt trucks get ahead of it. Texas is a disaster waiting to happen when you get freezing weather and precipitation. Bridges freeze first because they don’t retain the earth’s heat.

That’s some scary stuff.

Bingo. There's only one way to drive on ice: Don't.

 

[PO Frog]

My neighbor was in the pileup. Car was totaled but he’s fine.

 

[Wexahu]

I’ve lived in PA for thirty years. Driving on snow is not that difficult. Just go very slow.

There is no such thing as driving on ice, though. We don’t get ice here because salt trucks get ahead of it. Texas is a disaster waiting to happen when you get freezing weather and precipitation. Bridges freeze first because they don’t retain the earth’s heat.

That’s some scary stuff.

There is only a few degrees difference between literally the absolute worst driving conditions and it being perfectly safe to go normal speeds. I get the slow down thing, I really do, but it's easier said than done for someone that may have been on the road for some time already and wasn't having any issues. If at first you are driving really slow and after a while you haven't experienced any loss of traction, it's only natural to start going a little faster.

 

[Peacefrog]

Exact scenario that came to mind. Worst inter-change I have ever driven.

I take an inefficient way home from the office every day just to avoid that interchange. Whoever designed it clearly doesn’t have to use it. The north bound side right there isn’t much better as those merging on to 35 from 30 west have to cross two lanes in short order to not end up on 183 east. The whole thing needs to blown up and redone. But that will take a decade and untold billions.

 

[jack the frog]

My oldest brother worked for Tx DOT several years ago, at least I think it was them, and helped with the design of freeways. He quit after a few years because, as he put it, most of the engineers there were from A&M and they were the dumbest group of idiots he had ever worked with. He said you couldn't tell or suggest anything to them because they thought everyone else was stupid & beneath them if they didn't graduate from Aggieland. This clusterfudge at I-35W, 30, and 121 is a great example of that Aggie engineering.

Doesn’t get much better in the oil patch. If you want a jacked up drilling experience get an aggy engineer involved trying to outsmart the laws of physics.

 

[Sweat Equity]

If you get in a wreck, please for the love of God (or whatever/whomever you hold holy), please stay in your car unless you are in immediate danger. Move the vehicle over to the right if able. NEVER get out unless you are in immediate danger. Working in a highrise near a major freeway, I have had many misfortunes of seeing ppl, even kids, smashed by 18 wheelers/other cars after a wreck bc they got out of the car and inadvertently walked into another lane of traffic.

 

[HToady]

i was on that strip of road in the express lane (going South) on Sunday. I had two knee jerk reactions on Sunday:
1. Why were people driving so fast? There was one guy that must have been going 100.
2. Why are there so many big trucks on the express lanes?

 

[jack the frog]

More video from fb on this. Pretty shocking. Sorry I cannot post a video in a proper format.