After a 17-year partnership with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, the Dallas Police Department will soon take over freeway traffic enforcement within the city.

The current interlocal agreement for the Dallas County Highway Traffic Program, which began Oct. 1, 2025, is set to end Aug. 28. The partnership has been in place since 2008 and has provided more than $1 million per year in funding to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office.

DPD said it received notice that the agreement was being terminated without cause. Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said the department has been proactively planning for the transition.

The department plans to expand its Traffic Unit to take responsibility for freeway traffic enforcement, high-occupancy vehicle lane enforcement and crash investigations within the city.

“I think we have a plan in place that’s gonna take care of everyone that’s driving through Dallas and everyone that lives in Dallas,” Comeaux said.

“Expanding our Traffic Unit allows us to provide faster, more specialized response to traffic incidents, assume responsibility for HOV lane enforcement, and keep patrol officers focused on responding to calls for service. It’s an investment in both public safety and operational efficiency that ultimately enhances the level of service our community expects and deserves,” Comeaux said in a written release.

Comeaux told NBC 5 that TxDOT data shows the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office responded to about 6,500 crashes along state roadways under the current agreement. DPD now plans to add officers to respond to those same areas.

“Anyone was able to put in for the position that wanted to be looked at, so we have interviews going on throughout the department,” Comeaux said. “We are getting more and more recruits coming out of the academy; we’re filling the patrol stations.”

Under Proposition U, DPD still needs to hire hundreds more officers. Comeaux said adding officers to the Traffic Unit will help improve response times while keeping patrol officers available for emergency calls.

“Sometimes when you get a traffic accident, you can be tied up anywhere from 30 minutes, all the way to eight hours. It just depends on the complexity of the accident, and if there’s a fatality in the accident,” Comeaux said.

NBC 5 has reached out to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office to ask why it decided to end the agreement but has not yet received a response.