North Texas city warns of traffic nightmare as H-E-B opens

It’s being treated like an incoming hurricane, but with butter tortillas. H-E-B is opening a new store on May 20 in the North Texas city of Euless near the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, and city officials are battening down the hatches in preparation for an expected traffic nightmare.

Residents are being warned of “significantly heavier-than-normal traffic” in the area, not just for opening day, but for the first few days. Traffic signals are being adjusted, and off-duty police officers will be assisting with traffic control on both the roads and in the parking lot.

“If you do not need to travel in that area next week, we strongly encourage you to consider alternate routes or avoid the corridor altogether, particularly during peak shopping times,” the City of Bedford wrote on Facebook.

It’s all part of a preparatory operation being organized in unison by the City of Bedford, the City of Euless, TxDOT and H-E-B officials, as they fend off the coming tortilla rush. H-E-B Mid Cities, located on the edge of Euless near Bedford, is expected to bring traffic to a standstill in the connecting Cheek-Sparger Road area for up to a week, with delays also expected on Rio Grande Boulevard and Heritage Avenue.

There’s H-E-B fandom, and then there’s an opening appearing to shut down traffic in two separate towns nearby.

“Please be patient, allow extra travel time, watch for pedestrians,” the message goes on to implore, “and follow all traffic direction from officers and traffic control personnel as everyone adjusts to the new traffic patterns.”

As if the long-awaited store opening isn’t enough, H-E-B probably isn’t helping anything with the cornucopia of samples and giveaways for the first few days. This includes complimentary coffee, cinnamon roll samples and tote bag giveaways.

Some of the responses seem undeterred by the above warnings. “Woo hoo, we finally have an HEB. Traffic be darned!” wrote one person on Facebook. But others didn’t think the warning went far enough. 

“I won’t be anywhere near the store for several months,” said another.