If you've been to Love Field Airport recently you've probably noticed the traffic backups.
Airport officials have noticed too, and now they're considering a second entrance -- this one on the north side.
Plans are in the early stages, but there are three roadways under consideration: Shorecrest Drive, Northwest Highway and Lemmon Avenue.
Michelle Standerfer breathed a sigh of relief after she made it to the airport in time despite a crash on the Dallas North Tollway.
"It was backed up pretty far and so it took about 20 to 30 extra minutes to get here," she said.
Her niece flying Southwest Airlines is about the only thing that brings her to the airport nowadays.
"I would rather fly into DFW because it's easier to get to and get in and out," she said.
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Airport officials at Love Field said congestion at the southern entrance, the sole entry point, along Mockingbird and Herb Kelleher Way is getting worse.
"In the morning A.M. peak and the evening peak you can wait five or six cycles of a red light to get through the intersection," said Mark Duebner, director of aviation at the airport.
Duebner said Love Field is expected to nearly double its number of passengers -- and more flights will be added in January.
Officials are beginning to formulate a plan to add a north entrance.
"About half of our traffic comes from the south and the other half comes from the north, so it kind of makes sense to look at it," Duebner said.
If officials choose Northwest Highway, they may build a bridge over Bachman Lake Park.
"We certainly know that Bachman is a very beloved park and we want to minimize any impact that we have, but the fact is we are a very busy airport right in the middle of a residential area," Duebner said.
Duebner updated a Dallas City Council committee on Monday as to its Dallas Love Field Master Plan.
He said safety and emergency management would be improved and there would a reduction of approximately 1,400 to 1,700 tons of greenhouse gases with the addition of a second entry.
Officials will do more traffic modeling to gauge the impact to moving traffic from the south side of the airport to the north side.
The plan would eventually need city council approval.
Duebner said officials didn’t yet know how much a second entrance would cost, but said the funding would come from the airport's capital budget and applicable transportation funding.
