{"id":388413,"date":"2026-07-28T00:36:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T00:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/388413\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T00:36:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T00:36:28","slug":"whos-watching-dallas-traffic-inside-the-control-centers-managing-your-commute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/388413\/","title":{"rendered":"Who’s watching Dallas traffic? Inside the control centers managing your commute"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long before notification of a backup on Dallas-Fort Worth highways appears on a navigation app or an electronic message board, operators inside two traffic management centers are already responding. The centers, which are\u00a0in Dallas, monitor traffic constantly with the help of hundreds of cameras that inform real-time decisions to keep traffic flowing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here’s how they do it.<\/p>\n

What do traffic management centers do?<\/p>\n

According to the Federal Highway Administration, traffic management centers are “the nerve center” of roadway operations. Transportation authorities, such as the Texas Department of Transportation, monitor roads and initiate strategies to control traffic and incident responses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dallas has two major traffic management centers: DalTrans Traffic Management Center and the Lyndon B. Johnson Express Traffic Management Center. Both help manage commute times, prevent congestion and provide quick emergency responses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DalTrans is TxDOT’s Dallas district office, focused on monitoring the district’s general purpose highway lanes. It is the largest state-owned center, according to Business Operations Manager Joe Hunt. Fort Worth has its own TxDOT traffic management center.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Using more than 700 live cameras, operators work 24\/7 to track congestion and road conditions. The cameras do not record and information is not stored. Cameras sit between a quarter mile and one mile apart, covering as much road as possible.<\/p>\n

“The volume of traffic [in Dallas] leads to a lot of different incidents, and with that traffic stacks up,” Hunt said.<\/p>\n

DriveTexas, TxDOT’s live-feed traffic tracker, launched earlier this year. Hunt said cameras are being added to rural roads in the Dallas district to help monitor road conditions such as extreme weather, collisions and congestion.<\/p>\n

The LBJ Express Traffic Management center operates 250 cameras and monitors the managed lanes on the LBJ Express, North Tarrant Express and North Tarrant Express Interstate 35W. The LBJ center tracks traffic volumes and speeds, and ensures the accuracy of\u00a0the equipment that updates dynamic toll pricing on TEXpress<\/a> LBJ\/NTE\/35W toll roads. The toll\u00a0prices<\/a> are adjusted to reflect congestion in the general purpose lanes and refresh every five minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Live<\/p>\n

Live cameras show Dallas County traffic on a wall of video screens at TxDOT’s DalTrans Traffic Management Center in Dallas, July 7, 2026. (Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News)<\/p>\n

How does this impact me?<\/p>\n

Operators are updating message boards constantly, providing drivers with crucial information to navigate the roads safely. They alert motorists of estimated travel times and lane closures, provide road updates on conditions such as collisions or construction, and help motorists avoid congestion by suggesting alternate routes to bypass traffic.<\/p>\n

“During bad weather, when major storms come through, the operators get slammed,” Hunt said. “They have pre-loaded response plans. When they input the incident, it’ll suggest what sign and where to put it, which is great.”<\/p>\n

Operators also update their systems when a collision occurs to alert apps, such as Google Maps and Waze. They will reach out to local law enforcement, fire departments and other emergency service providers to make sure they are aware of the incident.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What does roadway assistance do?<\/p>\n

Roadside assistance services usually help drivers with common problems such as flat tires, dead car<\/a> batteries and emergency fuel delivery. If it is a minor incident or they are the initial responders, roadside assistance will direct traffic and clear stalled<\/a> vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The DalTrans Courtesy Patrol is TxDOT’s partnership in conjunction with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office. The patrol officers provide free roadside assistance 24\/7 to motorists on any TxDOT roads in the Dallas district. This includes all major highways in Dallas County such as Interstate 30 and U.S. Highway 75.<\/p>\n

To reach dispatch directly, call 214-320-4444.<\/p>\n

For TEXpress managed lanes, dial #789.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If a driver is in need of assistance, transportation officials urge them to safely pull over to the shoulder. Turn on the hazard lights and call for help. Unless the vehicle is on fire or smoking, do not get out of the car. Wait for help inside the vehicle.<\/p>\n

Subscribe<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Morning Roundup, a free newsletter delivering the latest North Texas news each morning.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long before notification of a backup on Dallas-Fort Worth highways appears on a navigation app or an electronic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,10504,103,136887,11048,136885,136890,136889,136886,136888],"class_list":["post-388413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-morning-news","tag-dallas-news","tag-daltrans-traffic-management-center","tag-federal-highway-administration","tag-live-traffic-cameras","tag-lyndon-b-johnson-express-traffic-management-center","tag-traffic-management-center","tag-traffic-management-centers","tag-txdot-traffic-management-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}