LBJ Freeway construction begins in a few months

Construction of the new $1.5 billion tollway tunnel on LBJ Freeway will start in early 2009. This reconstruction project, which is one of the largest that North Texas has seen, is supposed to turn that parking lot we call LBJ into a functioning freeway. LBJ was originally designed in 1969 to handle about 180,000 cars. Today it's estimated about 280,000 motorists commute on LBJ.
I had coffee with councilwoman Linda Koop earlier this week, and I picked her brain a bit about this new LBJ overhaul. She said while the construction will be a huge pain in the neck, it's a necessary evil if we want to see things get better in the long run. I tend to agree. Something needs to be done, and unfortunately, all the solutions involve some sort of inconvenient construction.
She's also obviously hopeful that the project will be completed within its five-year timeline. I'm not as hopeful. Maybe that's because I still remember the nightmare we all saw on Spring Valley when they added a tunnel under Central Expressway. That project turned Spring Valley into a concrete disaster for about four years. That project was small in comparison to the one about to take place on LBJ. So I can't help but seriously doubt it'll all happen in five years. Plus you throw in all the development that's going on near the Galleria, and you’ve really got yourself a commuting headache. I don't know about you, but I've already started mapping out those side streets.