Council to review river bridge plan
Arched spans over Trinity would reshape city's image, firm says
The Dallas Morning News
June 16, 1999
Author: Robert Ingrassia; Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News
Estimated printed pages: 4

Dallas can find money to build a series of dramatic suspension bridges over the Trinity River that will unify the city and transform its image, consultants and city staffers plan to tell the City Council on Wednesday.
City officials are also set to unveil the results of a study that concludes that a proposed suspension bridge at Woodall Rodgers Freeway would generate billions of dollars more in economic impact than a typical highway span.

The city proposes teaming with the state Department of Transportation and other government entities to build as many as five arched spans, structures officials have dubbed "signature bridges."

For three of the bridges, the city's share of construction costs would stay within budgets that voters approved in a May 1998 river bond referendum, said Assistant City Manager Jill Jordan.

But Ms. Jordan said that if the state agrees to help pay for suspension bridges at Interstate 35E and Interstate 30 - old spans already slated to be replaced with typical pier-and-beam structures - the city may ask voters to approve additional funding.

"We have a historic opportunity with the bridge work that's going to be done anyway to create something that will become the landmark for Dallas," Ms. Jordan said.

The prospect of the city seeking another bond election drew criticism from some opponents of the city's Trinity River project, a plan that includes a highway, flood--control levees, lakes and parks.

"What was identified to voters as a complete, corridor-wide project is in fact only a partial project and the voters didn't have that information in front of them," said Houston attorney Jim Blackburn, who represents a group of Trinity plan opponents and other residents called Taxpayers for Sensible Priorities.

Whether the state will help pay for the signature bridges remains unknown. The Texas Transportation Commission will weigh Dallas' requests against those of cities and counties throughout the state.

And some council members said Tuesday that they are concerned that if Dallas loads its highway wish list with Trinity bridges, other important transportation needs may go unmet.

"I don't want to jeopardize the funds that should be going toward the widening of LBJ [Freeway] or improvements to the mixmaster just to have some pretty bridges," council member Donna Blumer said.

Financing for LBJ and the downtown freeway hub would not be affected if Dallas pursues state money for a Woodall Rodgers suspension bridge, said David Laney, a Dallas lawyer who serves as chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission.

He said the extra cost of a suspension bridge would not come from the same pot of money as those major projects.

"It's a very doable deal, and there's not one penny taken away from any other project," Mr. Laney said.

Halff Associates, a Dallas design firm, developed the bridge proposals as part of a master plan for the Trinity River. The firm, which is being paid $1.5 million by the city, intends to make a case for landmark bridges using computer graphics, a tabletop model and a presentation from renowned architect Santiago Calatrava.

"We're going to live with these bridges 60 to 100 years, and we could repeat what we've already got or we can look at the bridges as an integral part of the Trinity River project and do something spectacular," said Jim Carrillo, Halff's planning director.

Lake proposal

Halff's proposed Trinity master plan calls for splitting the river near downtown and creating a lake between the new forks. It also would include trails, promenades and parklike access points along the river.

Halff planners say that building those features without addressing the look of the Trinity bridges would be foolish. They said the city has a unique chance to transform the river corridor because many of the bridges are slated for replacement or construction.

City officials plan to present conclusions of a study by Insight Research Corp. of Dallas, which estimates that a Woodall suspension bridge would generate more than twice the economic impact of a pier-and-beam structure.

That finding prompted skepticism from some council members.

"Why would a signature bridge bring more money in economic improvement than a regular bridge?" said Alan Walne, chairman of the council's Business and Commerce Committee. "Someone's going to have to explain that one to me."

The city paid $14,375 for the study. It reports that over 30 years, a suspension bridge would have an economic impact of $5.3 billion. That figure includes the construction of stores and office buildings, costs for land, wages, sales and a "ripple effect" of other spending. A conventional span would generate $1.7 billion in impact, the study concluded.

Increased growth

The study estimates that the suspension bridge would spark the construction of more restaurants than a normal bridge. It also estimates that hotels with views of the bridge could charge $10 per night extra.

Dallas council member Barbara Mallory Caraway, chairwoman of the council's Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, said the bridges "can become an economic generator and a defining monument for the entire city."

As outlined by Halff planners, the Woodall bridge would be built first, and completed by 2004. The span would anchor the planned extension of the freeway from downtown across the river to West Dallas.

State planners said the freeway extension would cost about $50 million. Halff Associates engineers estimate that a suspension bridge would cost up to $67.4 million.

Dallas' Trinity River referendum sets aside $28 million for the Woodall project. City officials are planning to ask the state to pay for the rest, no matter which type of bridge gets built.

State study

The state will conduct an independent study of the proposed Woodall suspension bridge, said Tim Nesbitt, a state transportation engineer.

"We all want a signature bridge," he said. "But time will tell to what dimension and what scale it will be. It's still unknown at this time what the state contribution might be."

As proposed in Halff's plan, two other bridges would stretch across the river as part of the proposed Trinity Parkway, a toll road that would run along both sides of the river from U.S. Highway 183 near Irving to U.S. 175 in southeast Dallas. One of the toll road bridges would be on the northern end near Hampton Road, and the other would be at the southern end near the Corinth Street Viaduct.

Those bridges face financing issues as well. The city, through the Trinity bond referendum, plans to contribute $84 million toward the $394 million toll road project, including the proposed bridges.

Planners say they don't know how much suspension bridges would add to the cost. The North Texas Tollway Authority, the lead agency planning the road, plans to pay for the project with bonds backed by projected toll income.
  Caption:
ILLUSTRATION(S): Bridges To The Future: 1. Woodall Rodgers. 2. Interstate 35E.
Edition:  THIRD
Section:  NEWS
Page:  25A
Copyright 1999 The Dallas Morning News
Record Number:  4063226