Meadowspring Lane in Lochwood has seen better days. Photo by Madelyn Edwards.

Meadowspring Lane between Yorkspring Drive and Fernald Avenue is, as neighbors are well aware, a short but bumpy road. 

As of writing this, Meadowspring has cracks, potholes and sections that have been patched up from previous repair jobs. Is it the worst in East Dallas or our city as a whole? Probably not — it likely won’t wreck your vehicle. But it may just be annoying enough to choose a different route.

“My surrounding neighbors, we go the other way to avoid it to get out of the neighborhood,” Jim Newman said to the Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate earlier this year. 

He adds, “There’s some moms with strollers that have decided it’s not smooth enough for them.” 

Fortunately, that alternative path is not far off. Comparing Meadowspring Lane to Valley Spring Drive on the other side of the neighborhood is like night and day. Valley Spring was recently worked on and is smooth to drive on. It even looks aesthetically pleasing within this picturesque Lochwood neighborhood. 

The aforementioned Valley Spring Drive. Photo by Madelyn Edwards.

Last fall, we wrote about how Valley Spring Drive was redone with concrete, and drainage issues were repaired by the City, which had previously replaced the asphalt as a temporary fix. Neighbor Trey Brown commented in that article that it was strange to seemingly fix one road twice while others nearby needed attention. And he specifically mentioned Meadowspring Lane.

Days after that was published, Newman emailed the Advocate, saying, “Meadowspring Lane between Fernald and Yorkspring is well past the point of the City’s whack-a-mole pothole repair program. If we have to wait another four to six years (for bond election), Meadowspring Lane won’t be driveable.”

To the City’s credit, Newman said crews are responsive to 311 requests to fix potholes. Dallas Department of Transportation and Public Works reported in an email that there have been eight such service requests for Meadowspring Lane for “patches, pothole fixes or other minor repairs between January 2021 and February 2026.”

Still, Newman would like to see the road fully resurfaced like other streets nearby. In the about 40 years since he’s been a neighbor, Newman can’t remember the last time that happened on Meadowspring. 

That’s because a full reconstruction hasn’t ever been done before on that road, according to available City records. Local neighborhood streets can typically last 20-30 years or longer, with weather, daily usage and ongoing maintenance being determining factors, Dallas Department of Transportation and Public Works said in an email. But they aren’t usually fully reconstructed unless utilities need to be repaired or it’s being redesigned for future circumstances. 

Consistent with what the Advocate reported last fall, TPW told us earlier this year that there aren’t plans to work on Meadowspring Lane in 2026, but it’s on the City’s “needs inventory.” We also provided a list of local roads to be outfitted with slurry seal and Onyx Preservation treatments in the last article, but those wouldn’t have worked for Meadowspring because it’s “past the point of preventative maintenance.”

“According to City records in the needs inventory, Meadowspring Lane is slated for several future street resurfacing projects between Valley Spring Drive and Yorkspring Drive,” the department said. “Street resurfacing projects involve full demolition and replacement of the existing roadway along with installation of new curb and gutter replacements, installation of Barrier Free Ramps and sidewalk infrastructure as needed.”

Dallas Department of Transportation and Public Works reported that there have been eight 311 service requests for Meadowspring Lane for “patches, pothole fixes or other minor repairs between January 2021 and February 2026.” Photo by Madelyn Edwards.

During last year’s budget cycle, District 9 City Council member Paula Blackmon emphasized street maintenance. And she said infrastructure needs to be a focal point this year, too. 

“That’s what I’m going to be hyper sensitive about because our East Dallas streets are crumbling,” Blackmon told the Advocate earlier this year. 

For District 9 alone, about 130 street maintenance projects (most, but not all, of which were preventative and to “extend the life of the streets”) were on the books for the 2025-26 fiscal year. As of April 30, almost 40% were complete, according to TPW.

“It’s probably the most we’ve ever put into infrastructure has been just recently,” Blackmon said.

Getting the roads actually fixed is a process that’s about more than available funding. The council woman pointed out that manpower to ensure the money is spent properly and work is done in a timely manner is also needed. 

“You do as much work as the system can bear, not just how much it can afford,” she said. 

So what can you do? Keep filing those 311 reports. City staff tracks that data and uses it to decide future maintenance and bond projects.