THINKING BIG FOR THEIR BRIDGES
Leaders hoping new spans link aesthetics, function
The Dallas Morning News
November 29, 1998
Author: Robert Ingrassia; Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News
Estimated printed pages: 4

San Francisco cherishes its Golden Gate Bridge. New York City prizes the Brooklyn Bridge. And Dallas . . . ?
Well, Big D could soon hail the Woodall Rodgers Freeway Bridge.

Never much of a bridge town, Dallas is gearing up for a bridge-building boom. In the works are nine new spans over the Trinity River, most of them replacements for worn-out bridges, and a face lift for the historic Houston Street Viaduct.

Some urban planners and city leaders say they see a chance for Dallas to create a distinctive series of bridges - ones that won't necessarily rival the world's finest but will do more than carry cars over the river bottoms.

Yet cost concerns and timing problems could dash their dreams. Some of the major bridges already are being designed as drab freeway spans - the type of structures some planners want to avoid.

"We see the Trinity River as an opportunity to create a civic monument," said Donal R. Simpson, a Dallas architect who is helping develop a river master plan. "What these bridges can do is reunite the city - culturally, geographically, economically and racially."

City leaders heard the call on the Woodall project, a bridge that will extend the highway into north Oak Cliff and West Dallas. Rather than settling for a boring structure stamped from a freeway design manual, officials are working to make the span a "signature bridge" with special design features.

But ambitious plans must mesh with taxpayers' willingness to pay for them. And a lack of money could force Dallas to leave much of Woodall's potential grandeur on the drawing board. Consultants hired to spruce up the designs of the other projects also may find their options limited by tight budgets and previously completed plans.

Still, optimism runs high among city officials, state engineers and urban planners that Dallas can use the bridge projects to redefine its relationship with the Trinity and rethink the way the city ties together its northern and southern halves.

"More than infrastructure links, these are symbolic links to the other side of the Trinity," said City Council member Veletta Forsythe Lill .

Much of the bridge work will coincide with the city's Trinity River project, a plan to build a highway, levees, lakes, parks and forest preserve within the river corridor. Dallas voters approved a 10-year, $246 million bond issue for the project May 2. The city hopes to turn the river corridor from a drainage ditch into a recreational greenbelt anchored by lakes and trails.

The river project has drawn attention to the generally sad state of the bridges that cross the half-mile-wide floodplain. The 86-year-old Houston Street bridge, perhaps the city's most historic, is structurally sound, but in serious need of cosmetic repair.

The freeway bridges - two for Interstate 35E and one for Interstate 30 - are nobody's idea of special. Completed decades ago, when the Trinity was considered nothing but an unsightly barrier, the freeway bridges are bare-bones masses of concrete and steel that engineers say have exceeded their useful lives.

Plans call for new bridges for both freeways. State engineers said they are designing typical highway structures with few, if any, special features. Mr. Simpson, who is teaming with Dallas-based Halff Associates on the river master plan, said he hopes it's not too late to alter the designs.

"If the city spends all that money on a lake and parks between the levees and they've got all these ugly bridges running through it, it'll be a waste of money," Mr. Simpson said.

State transportation officials say designs can be altered, especially if local leaders press for changes and back up their requests with local funding.

City officials are focusing much of their attention on the Woodall project, which is tentatively set to begin construction in 2001. They've assembled a team of artists to draw up plans for public art that can be incorporated into the bridge's design.

The key issue, state and city officials said, will be reconciling the costs of the city's vision for Woodall with the money available to build it.

"Just because we come up with something grand doesn't mean the state will pay," Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk said. "Our dreams are going to have to be somewhat related to what we think the state will pay for."

The Texas Transportation Commission controls the purse strings on the Woodall project. But the city won't be empty-handed when it presses the state for a custom-built bridge. As part of the Trinity bond referendum, Dallas voters approved $28 million in city funds for the project.

If Woodall were built as a typical freeway span - a "plain vanilla structure," as state engineers put it - it would cost about $40 million. Officials won't have an estimate of how much a specially designed bridge would cost until early next year. In the spring, the state commission will begin discussing the state's share of the cost.

Commission chairman David Laney, a Dallas attorney, said the Texas Department of Transportation is willing to work with cities to develop unique structures, especially when the cities bring their own money to the table. He said a suspension bridge is not out of the question for Woodall.

The Department of Transportation " has shown a willingness, at least in the recent past, to be more aggressive with aesthetics and design," he said.

Mr. Laney cited the transportation department's construction of the Fred Hartman bridge over the Houston Ship Canal in Baytown, a more than $110 million span. He said that bridge, even though it was plagued by delays and cost overruns, shows the department's ability to take on ambitious projects.

The key to creating exceptional public structures, Mr. Laney said, is for a local community to develop a plan for what it wants and then stand behind it.

"Dallas really has a unique opportunity here," he said. "I'm very interested in Dallas taking advantage of it."

Although the other bridge projects may not get the same attention or funding as the Woodall Rodgers extension, the city's Trinity consultants said they still hope to add some amenities to the spans. They said that with creative use of lights, paint and paving stones, staid structures can come alive.

Those types of features don't necessarily break a project's budget and often may be added to structures that already have been designed, planners said.

Halff Associates has hired renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava to help develop ideas for the Trinity plan, including the bridge work. Mr. Calatrava, who recently visited Dallas, said he envisions Dallas creating a unified "ensemble of bridges."

"A bridge can be a very strong landmark," said Mr. Calatrava, whose designs in Barcelona and elsewhere are hailed for their natural beauty. "With the right bridge in the right place, you can create that landmark."
  Caption:
ILLUSTRATION(S): /MAP(S): SOURCES: Texas Department of Transportation; city of Dallas; Dallas County; Dallas Morning News research) The Bridges of The Trinity River/ Downtown Dallas. PHOTO(S): (1-5 DMN: Juan Garcia) 1. Interestate 35E Bridges. 2. Corinth Street Bridge. 3. Houston Stree Bridge. 4. Interstate 30 Bridge. 5.Sylvan Avenue. 6. Hampton Road Bridge.
Edition:  HOME FINAL
Section:  NEWS
Page:  35A
Copyright 1998 The Dallas Morning News
Record Number:  4013175