I obviously don't live in Waco, but traverse it via I35 frequently. Other than demolishing the Valley Mills flyover, why is TxDOT ****ing with I35 south in Waco AGAIN?!

BellCountyBear said:

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I obviously don't live in Waco, but traverse it via I35 frequently. Other than demolishing the Valley Mills flyover, why is TxDOT ****ing with I35 south in Waco AGAIN?!

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My understanding is that the 12th Street to Loop 340 (south) I-35 expansion project was initially not expected to be funded until sometime after 2030.

In the meantime, it appeared that the East Loop 340 expansion project, which was less expensive, was to be completed to have a somewhat functional alternate route around Waco prior to the I-35 construction beginning, thus alleviating a major bottleneck.

But, somehow and some way, the funding for I-35 became available sooner than expected and they ran with it.

In the meantime, East Loop 340 (2-lane with traffic lights) is still a joke and I dread the traffic jams that will occur when I-35 traffic is reduced down to 2-lanes in each direction, which I believe will happen sometime next week. Friday afternoons will be rough.

The price of progress, I suppose.

Eleven-League Grant said:

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In the meantime, East Loop 340 (2-lane with traffic lights) is still a joke and I dread the traffic jams that will occur when I-35 traffic is reduced down to 2-lanes in each direction, which I believe will happen sometime next week. Friday afternoons will be rough.

The price of progress, I suppose.

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Don't forget about the school-zone that exacerbates an already bad situation.

The backup at the Loop 340/Hwy 6 stoplight has reached a mile in length.

Yogi said:

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Removing that flyover is going to be epic given that its replacement is an Aggy-designed divergent diamond into the circle.

You can bet that Waco's simple, aging population is going to avoid S. Valley Mills Drive like COVID after that idiostrosity is built.

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Drove through one of these in Colorado Springs last week. It felt less efficient overall as every time I went through it I was stopping at both lights for what felt like an extended time.

The divergent diamond is awful.

Yogi said:

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Removing that flyover is going to be epic given that its replacement is an Aggy-designed divergent diamond into the circle.

You can bet that Waco's simple, aging population is going to avoid S. Valley Mills Drive like COVID after that idiostrosity is built.

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The main thing I hate about Texas…too many aggys in general, and WAYYY too many in positions of authority.

Related - the way Texas manages interstates is idiotic. France does it much better than the U.S. overall, but Texas is the stupidest in the states.

FirmBear24 said:

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The divergent diamond is awful.

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Here's one in Georgetown - without a giant roundabout at the end of it...

Not sure how the businesses on the Circle survive this....

Yogi said:

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FirmBear24 said:

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The divergent diamond is awful.

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Here's one in Georgetown - without a giant roundabout at the end of it...

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They are all awful. It makes zero sense to not be able to go straight at a light at an intersection.

Harrison Bergeron said:

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Related - the way Texas manages interstates is idiotic. France does it much better than the U.S. overall, but Texas is the stupidest in the states.

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not even close.. they do some supremely dumb sht up in the north east

The divergent diamond intersections are a traffic engineers wet dream. And like their other wet dream, the super highly limited access freeway, they create more problems than they solve.

The Circle needs to go. It might be ok if drivers in Texas were more accustomed to them. Everyone has to assume everyone else knows what the hell they are doing or they don't work. I avoid the circle like the plague.

For those not knowing what a diverging diamond is, but you want to study up on it to hate it in advance, here ya go.

Every time I try to get on 35 N from the Ikea, I curse whoever designed that stupid intersection... They seem to be designed for places that don't utilize feeder roads.

FirmBear24 said:

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Yogi said:

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FirmBear24 said:

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The divergent diamond is awful.

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Here's one in Georgetown - without a giant roundabout at the end of it...

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They are all awful. It makes zero sense to not be able to go straight at a light at an intersection.

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Exactly. When the surrounding infrastructure was built to suit a particular traffic pattern, the diamond messes with everything (like IKEA/University Blvd in Round Rock). Plus the no right on red drives me nuts.

I'm still confused by the double lane on/off ramps for the revamped HWY 6. Two merges for the price of one.

I wonder how Magnolia Table will be affected by this mess? Not that I really care.

BellCountyBear said:

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I wonder how Magnolia Table will be affected by this mess? Not that I really care.

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I can only imagine that if housewives are making a pilgrimage to Interior Design Mecca, they'll be able to find their way to more overpriced food there.

Please don't mistake this for distain. I'm very happy with Chip and Jojo changing the perception of Waco.

Yogi said:

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Not sure how the businesses on the Circle survive this....

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Maybe (for sure) I'm dumb, but I don't see how you can go north on I-35 if you are coming from the circle.

Booboo Bear said:

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Yogi said:

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Not sure how the businesses on the Circle survive this....

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Maybe (for sure) I'm dumb, but I don't see how you can go north on I-35 if you are coming from the circle.

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Apparently you turn right in front of Health Camp then immediately left on that magic strip labeled "26th Street," which is actuality is just part of the parking lot between Rudy's and Magnolia Table.

whitetrash said:

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Booboo Bear said:

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Yogi said:

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Not sure how the businesses on the Circle survive this....

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Maybe (for sure) I'm dumb, but I don't see how you can go north on I-35 if you are coming from the circle.

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Apparently you turn right in front of Health Camp then immediately left on that magic strip labeled "26th Street," which is actuality is just part of the parking lot between Rudy's and Magnolia Table.

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or go down to primrose by the stripes and turn back toward 35

Again. R.I.P. business on the Circle.

trey3216 said:

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Yogi said:

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Again. R.I.P. business on the Circle.

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I highly doubt it will affect business on the circle at all. The construction will hurt it far more than the Diamond intersection.

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Look, take it from someone whose family has been around Waco since the 1870's.

You have an older population in McLennam County who appreciate simplicity and things that are recognizeable.

I've already heard a couple of Wacoans lament that they won't be able to go to the Healrh Camp or Trujillo's again.

One said, "I ain't doin' that."

You can't have Austinites planning Waco. They are two completely different markets.

And those civil planners who think up things like this are into engineering instead of marketing.

I am confident that traffic counts on the Circle will reduce both during and after construction, and I will leave it at that.

Yogi said:

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trey3216 said:

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Yogi said:

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Again. R.I.P. business on the Circle.

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I highly doubt it will affect business on the circle at all. The construction will hurt it far more than the Diamond intersection.

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Look, take it from someone whose family has been around Waco since the 1870's.

You have an older population in McLennam County who appreciate simplicity and things that are recognizeable.

I've already heard a couple of Wacoans lament that they won't be able to go to the Healrh Camp or Trujillo's again.

One said, "I ain't doin' that."

You can't have Austinites planning Waco. They are two completely different markets.

And those civil planners who think up things like this are into engineering instead of marketing.

I am confident that traffic counts on the Circle will reduce both during and after construction, and I will leave it at that.

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people need to learn how to adapt to things. but honesty im surprised anybody would be up in arms about not being able to get to trujillos or health camp the way they used to. both are mediocre

Currently there is nothing on the Circle or really, the entirety of LaSalle from the Circle to Campus that I'm interested in patronizing. They have gotten by without my business literally forever, so I'm sure they will be just fine.

The only things I'm interest in is how hard will it be to get to the Valley Mills HEB from 35 south bound and how hard will it be to go north on 35 from the HEB.

Just a current update on I-35, my wife just called and told me that the Northbound lanes are closed and Southbound lanes are split in two for both to share. The fun begins.

trey3216 said:

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tcbear said:

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I just drove in to Waco from the south and I am eating at Health Camp. My burger and milk shake are very good.

It was also easy to get here taking Loop 340/6 east and heading north on 77.

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Don't you give me any of that. Pets' heads are falling off over here

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Sometimes I feel like I'm attending the internet version of a 5AM meeting at Harold Waite's.

NTTAWWW.

Coming from Woodway, I get to Baylor via 35 N and back home via Loop 340 (going from campus down UParks). It's been fine.

When they closed the on-ramp to 35 S next to the grease pit, that was the nail in the coffin. They also occasionally close the exit for the flyover to go 35 N from Highway 6, and that sucks a great deal.