Friday’s morning rush on Interstate 35W south of Fort Worth suddenly turned into a slow crawl when a power line dropped across the highway near Burleson, shutting down all lanes in both directions. The line stretched over the main lanes and the frontage roads near County Road 810, just south of Farm Road 917, grinding traffic to a halt and spilling backups onto neighborhood streets as police urged drivers to steer clear.
What police say
Burleson officers said the shutdown started shortly after 7 a.m. while crews worked to remove the hazard, according to WFAA. Reporter Ryan Osborne noted that the downed line covered all lanes of I-35W and that both the interstate and the adjacent frontage roads were affected, leaving drivers with few good options.
Safety and traffic tips
Utility safety officials stress that any wire on the ground should be treated as if it is live, so people should stay well back and call 911 instead of trying to move anything themselves, according to Oncor. The company notes that electricity can travel through the ground and through objects touching a downed line, and it advises reporting hazardous wires to emergency services or the utility’s outage line. Letting trained crews de-energize the line and clear the scene keeps motorists, bystanders and first responders out of harm’s way.
Why this snarled the morning commute
I-35W is a major north–south artery for Fort Worth and surrounding communities, carrying heavy commuter and freight traffic, so a full closure can ripple across the region in a hurry, per TxDOT. The National Weather Service had issued winter-weather messaging for parts of North Texas on Friday, a setup that can add strain to power infrastructure, although officials did not immediately tie this particular outage to the weather. Drivers are being urged to check local traffic reports and map apps and to plan alternate routes while crews finish clearing the highway.
As of the latest update, crews were still on scene removing the wire and checking for damage, and police told WFAA they would reopen the interstate once it is safe to do so. Drivers should plan for lingering delays through the morning commute and follow posted detours and instructions from first responders guiding traffic around the closure.
