The Texas Department of Transportation in an Oct. 8 news release stated the Parmer bridge is scheduled to close to traffic at 8 p.m. on Oct. 8. Traffic will detour to U-turns at Howard Lane or Yager Lane while the bridge is closed.
According to the release, the bridge will open again at noon on Oct. 9, weather permitting.
The bridge will open with a new traffic pattern termed a diverging diamond interchange, or DDI. A TxDOT fact sheet on the Parmer Lane DDI states the new traffic pattern will temporarily shift traffic to the left side of the roadway before cars enter the intersections on either side of the bridge.
Motorists who want to continue traveling eastbound or westbound on Parmer after crossing the bridge will be shifted back to the right after exiting the DDI. Drivers who wish to enter I-35 will be shifted to the left prior to entering the bridge and will exit the DDI to the left after crossing the bridge.
New frontage road patterns have also been constructed at the Parmer at I-35 intersection, according to TxDOT. Bypass lanes have been added in each direction, allowing northbound and southbound drivers on the I-35 frontage road to bypass stopping at the intersection altogether.
For motorists wanting to continue traveling eastbound or westbound on Parmer, traffic will be shifted to the left side of the bridge and then shifted back to the right after exiting the DDI. Through access at the intersection has been removed for frontage road drivers, meaning motorists using the frontage roads that do not use the bypass lane will be required to turn left or right at Parmer.
TxDOT in its news release said police will be on-site throughout the weekend to help direct traffic through the DDI on the Parmer bridge.
For more information on how to drive through a DDI, visit this TxDOT website.
