Ronald Kirk Bridge

Ronald Kirk Pedestrian Bridge
Ronald Kirk Bridge in 2015
Coordinates 32°46′51″N 96°49′22″W / 32.780901°N 96.822768°W / 32.780901; -96.822768Coordinates: 32°46′51″N 96°49′22″W / 32.780901°N 96.822768°W / 32.780901; -96.822768
Carries Pedestrians (since June 15, 2014)
Crosses Trinity River
Locale Continental Ave. in Dallas, Texas
Official name Ronald Kirk Bridge
Other name(s) Lamar-McKinney Viaduct, Continental Avenue Bridge
Named for Ron Kirk
Owner City of Dallas
Characteristics
Design Multi-span plate girder bridge
Material concrete, steel
Total length 2,105 feet (642 m)
Width 60 feet (18 m)
No. of spans 43
History
Designer Francis Dey Hughes
Constructed by L.H. Lay Company
Construction start 1929 (1929)
Construction end 1930 (1930)
Opened 1932 (1932)
Closed 2013 (2013) (vehicular)
Replaced by Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge (vehicular)
Lamar-McKinney Bridge
Area 3 acres (1.2 ha)
MPS Historic Road Infrastructure of Texas, 1866-1965
NRHP reference # 15000708[1]
Added to NRHP October 5, 2015
Ronald Kirk Bridge
Location in Texas
Ronald Kirk Bridge
Ronald Kirk Bridge (the US)

The Ronald Kirk Bridge is a pedestrian footbridge over the Trinity River in Dallas, Texas. It connects Downtown Dallas and West Dallas, paralleling the 2012 Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge for vehicles, and the 1930 Texas and Pacific Railway Trinity River Bridge.

History

Constructed as the Lamar-McKinney Viaduct in 1933, the original road bridge was built to carry vehicles across the periodically swelling Trinity River to West Dallas. It was completed 27 years after the river's 1908 flood that submerged most of the area.

The bridge was renamed the Ronald Kirk Bridge in 2016 from its former name, the Continental Avenue Bridge. It was renamed in honor of the first African-American mayor of Dallas, Ronald Kirk.[2]

Restoration

The bridge had fallen into a state of disrepair by 2010, when plans were being developed to reconstruct Continental Avenue and the bridge. During the reconstruction of the bridge it was decided that there was no need for it to carry vehicular traffic, since the nearby Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge was completed in 2012 to do so. The design as a footbridge complemented the nearby open park plan for Klyde Warren Park, as a recreation amenity.[3]

The Ronald Kirk Bridge reopened on Sunday, June 15, 2014 (Father's Day). It opened with a playground, a splash park, lounge chairs, human-sized chess boards, and a ceiling of cloth to shade the area, along with many trails surrounding the bridge in the Trinity River Basin and on the levees.[4]

This bridge is part of the greater Trinity River Project.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Herrington, Jeff (November 14, 2014). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Fox 4 News-Dallas Bridge Named for Former Mayor Ron Kirk". Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "KERA News-'It's Fabulous:' Dallas' Continental Bridge Reopens As A Park -- No Cars Allowed". Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Dallas Morning News-All-day party celebrates Continental bridge reopening". Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "Trinity River Project-Continental Ave. Bridge". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.

Media related to Lamar-McKinney Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.