We traveled the section from Little Rock back to Texas last August. Mostly good road with a few miles of rough pavement. Just slow down thru those sections. Not worth trying to find routes around it. There is a lot of truck traffic, but just go with the flow and not bad.
As you approach Dallas, take I-635 south, to I-20 west, to I-35E south. That bypasses most of Dallas around the southeast side. I-35E merges with I-35W near Hillsboro to become I-35. Good road, most newly rebuilt, until you get south of Waco approaching Temple. Then there will be about 30 miles or so of construction where the highway is being completely rebuilt. But they do a good job of keeping the traffic flowing, and it generally flows at greater than the posted limit. There is a short section around Salado with lane shifts and narrow lanes. But once thru that you will find good highway the rest of the way.
North of Georgetown you can choose to stay on I-35 and endure the traffic thru Austin and points south. Or you can take the toll road bypassing all that to the east. But that can cost $30 or more depending on what you are driving/towing. I just stay on I-35. Once you get thru the downtown Austin area it is not too bad.
