Social media videos highlight drivers’ frustration with construction along Interstate 35, where lane closures have turned routine commutes into lengthy delays.
“You can’t get anywhere on 35 ever,” Cally Moore said in a TikTok video. “It turns what really should be a very reasonable 30-minute commute into over 90 minutes.”
Moore said she was in tears because of the traffic and shared her frustration online. Thousands of people responded, saying they had experienced similar delays.
The traffic also affected Heather Towner’s family after she suffered a seizure at home. Her family called 911, and an ambulance took her to a nearby emergency room.
Doctors performed a CT scan and found a brain hemorrhage. Towner was then transferred by ambulance to St. Luke’s Baptist Hospital because it is part of the brain and stroke network, her mother, Shanna Lucius, said.
The trip normally takes about 25 minutes. Instead, the ambulance ride took more than an hour.
“It was a nightmare getting there,” Lucius said. “I-35, there’s lane closures everywhere.”
Lucius said she worried about what could have happened if Towner had needed emergency brain surgery or if the patient had been having an active heart attack.
“It was just scary,” Towner said. “I’m grateful that I’m OK.”
In an email, the Texas Department of Transportation said overnight lane closures are necessary.
“All mainlanes are open during the day, and overnight lane closures are necessary to allow crews to safely perform critical construction activities, including bridge construction and concrete placement,” TxDOT said in a statement to KSAT.
TxDOT said safety is its top priority and that drivers who use I-35 should begin to see some relief in early 2027.
Lucius said she hopes officials can do more to identify alternative routes during emergencies.
“They could do a better job maybe making sure there’s some alternative routes for emergencies,” Lucius said.
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