In the case of I-35 in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, since neither branch is clearly the main route and both branches return to a unified Interstate beyond the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, officials at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) have allowed the suffixes of E and W in Texas to remain in the present day.

I-35W travels north away from downtown concurrent with US 287, next intersecting I-820 just east of Fort Worth Meacham International Airport.

I-35W then gradually shifts to the northeast, passing Fort Worth Alliance Airport and Texas Motor Speedway.

Like the I-35 split in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, I-35W uses its own exit numbers and mileposts, while I-35E continues those along I-35 between the city of Laredo and the Oklahoma state line.

The crash occurred north of downtown Fort Worth and spanned 0.5 miles (0.80 km) between SH 183 (Northeast 28th Street) and Northside Drive.

[4] The area had experienced 36 hours of freezing rain before the collision, and workers had pretreated the roadway with brine, but this did not prevent the disaster.