DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – It’s danger to everyone who drives down North Texas freeways.
That’s what a group of Dallas Police officers call the large objects and road debris that they complain are not being picked up fast enough.
“You may see part of a car you may see a trailer, a couch, a refrigerator, a barbecue grill and these things collect over time it’s almost like a driving junkyard up and down Central,” said McKinney City Council Member Frederick Frazier.
Frazier says photos taken just over the past week show the danger road debris poses to drivers on North Central Expressway from Dallas all the way to McKinney.
Highway debris in North Texas (credit: Frederick Frazier)
“It’s an endangerment, it’s way past the safety issue, way past unsightliness, this is a danger issue to everyone who drives that road every single day,” said Frazier, who is also vice president of the Dallas Police Association.
He’s calling on the Texas Department of Transportation to do a better job cleaning up junk that litters the shoulders and lanes of DFW’s busiest roads.
“Something’s got to be done and TxDOT has got to do a better job of patrolling this area,” he said.
TxDOT is aware of the concerns, and the department values the working relationship it has with law enforcement agencies. TxDOT Is experiencing performance issues with the current sweeping and debris contract. The department is working now on getting a sweeping services contract restored. In the meantime, TxDOT crews will be performing regular patrols and debris pickup to address this issue.
There’s concern among officers like Frazier the problem is starting to impact their jobs.
“It’s gotten so bad that the officers who use this highway to make their traffic stops and do their business on speeders they are directing them to keep going all the way down to the exits and then pulling them over,” he said.
Frazier says he’s contacted TxDOT about his concerns and wants to see a more reliable maintenance schedule to keep the freeways safe.
