The Ronald Kirk Bridge is a
pedestrian bridge
A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...
over the
Trinity River in Dallas,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. It connects
Downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...
and
West Dallas
West Dallas is an area consisting of many communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas, Dallas, Texas, United States. West Dallas lies just west of Downtown Dallas, north of Oak Cliff, and east of Irving, Texas, Irving and Grand Prairie, Texas, ...
, paralleling the 2012
Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge
The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in Dallas, Texas, that spans the Trinity River (Texas), Trinity River. The bridge is named for Margaret Hunt Hill, an heiress and philanthropist. The bridge was constructed as part of the Tr ...
for vehicles, and the 1930
Texas and Pacific Railway
The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...
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.
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
The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in Dallas, Texas, that spans the Trinity River (Texas), Trinity River. The bridge is named for Margaret Hunt Hill, an heiress and philanthropist. The bridge was constructed as part of the Tr ...
was completed in 2012 to do so. The design as a footbridge complemented the nearby open park plan for
Klyde Warren Park
Klyde Warren Park is a public park in Downtown Dallas, Texas. The park is over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway, and opened in 2012. It is named for Klyde Warren, the young son of billionaire Kelcy Warren who donated $10 million to the developmen ...
, as a recreation amenity.
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.
This bridge is part of the greater
Trinity River Project.
See also
*
*
List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Texas
*
References
External links
*
{{NRHP in Texas
Bridges in Dallas
Pedestrian bridges in Texas
Trinity River (Texas)
Historic American Engineering Record in Texas
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas
National Register of Historic Places in Dallas
Former road bridges in the United States