Interstate 345

Interstate 345 (I-345) is an unsigned 1.4-mile-long (2.3 km) Auxiliary Interstate Highway in the city of Dallas within the US state of Texas. It is a freeway that connects I-45 (which ends at the interchange with I-30) with U.S. Highway 75 (US 75; North Central Expressway) at State Highway Spur 366 (Spur 366; Woodall Rodgers Freeway). Few maps actually display the road as I-345; signposts on the road show US 75 northbound, while southbound the highway is signed as I-45. In recent years, a debate over whether to maintain or decommission I-345 has received increased attention from several Dallas media outlets. TxDOT elected to maintain the freeway by lowering it below ground and removing frontage roads.

I-345 serves as the connection between I-45 and the North Central Expressway (US 75). It starts at the junction of I-45 and I-30, passes by Downtown Dallas, and connects to US 75 at the Spur 366 junction. The entire stretch of I-345 is elevated allowing for better connections between Downtown Dallas and Deep Ellum.

Although I-345 uses its own mileposts, the exit numbering is not consistent. The exit numbers on the northbound stretch count upward from the I-45 numbers (the exit for Spur 366 being labeled as exit 286A), while, on the southbound stretch, the Spur 366 exit is numbered exit 1A, followed by the exit for Ross Avenue numbered exit 285.

In 1964, I-345, extending I-45 north along the proposed Central Expressway bypass, was added as a proposed state highway. I-345 was built and opened in the 1970s. At the north end, before it merged into the Central Expressway (which continued to carry US 75), I-345 straddled the bridges over Bryan Street and Ross Avenue, the latter the location of the opening ceremonies in 1949. Because of their location, these two bridges were not replaced in the 1990s reconstruction of the North Central Expressway and are the only surviving grade separations from the initial construction north from downtown.

There has recently been a growing level of local news coverage of a proposal to completely remove I-345 and decommission it from the Interstate Highway System due to the fact that the Interstate separates the Downtown Dallas and Deep Ellum neighborhoods.

The proposal would demolish the elevated structure, but, instead of replacing it with a below-grade structure (similar to that of Woodall Rogers), it would be replaced with an at-grade parkway and reconnected streets (some of which are disconnected by the current structure).

Media outlets, including The Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Observer, and D Magazine, first discussed the proposal in 2012 and 2013.

In February 2014, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced plans to spend $100 million (equivalent to $130 million in 2024) to repair the existing I-345 structure, but Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings responded by saying that the decommissioning/removal alternative should be further considered before any repair. After further investigation, Rawlings concluded that repairs should proceed in advance of a study and decision on the fate of the road.