As some of you might remember from my "Honk if you’re a selfish jerk" post, I often drive east along Northwest Highway past West Lawther, and turn north (or left) where the median breaks near the Dallas Park and Recreation building. Lately, however, I have been opting to wait at the left-turn-on-green-arrow-only light at West Lawther because all of the construction along Northwest Highway.

This morning, however, I remembered another reason why I prefer the median over waiting for the green arrow: The unannounced bridge closure where West Lawther turns into Lanshire. A flashing red light does notify drivers that they will have to take a different route to get to White Rock Valley, but the sign is visible only after drivers have turned onto the road, and have no choice but to turn around and wait on a very lengthy light so that Northwest Highway traffic can pass through.

Sign up for our newsletter!

* indicates required

Usually, right after it has rained, drivers who normally take that route know that the bridge will likely be closed because White Rock Creek floods and overflows along that stretch. But I have sometimes made the turn hours after it rains, when the creek surely has receded. And this morning, the birdge closure appeared to be preemptory — the bridge wasn’t flooded yet, but the rain predicted today might flood it — so I and the driver in front of me (and likely many others who came before and followed) had no way of knowing that we couldn’t use the road.

There is an easy solution to this problem: The city should add two signs with flashing red lights, one facing west next to the green-arrow-only light for drivers turning left onto West Lawther from Northwest Highway, and one facing east on the northeast portion of that intersection, for the benefit of drivers turning right. Yes, I realize not being able to traverse the bridge is only a minor inconvenience, but for drivers who frequent this route, it would be greatly appreciated.