Irving To Get Signature Bridge Near Old Texas Stadium
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW) - A high-profile piece of land in Irving is expected to get an eye-catching change. The City of Irving just announced a timeline to built a bridge near the site of the old Texas Stadium.
The bridge will be a 'signature' bridge, announcing the gateway to the city for the hundreds of thousands of drivers who pass through each day.
Plans include pedestrian walkways, landscaping, canopies, as well vehicle traffic lanes. It will cross Hwy 114 near the Loop 12 interchange, connecting the site of the site of the old Texas Stadium and another piece of property, totaling 400 developable acres.
Scott Connell, the Director of Economic Development, considers the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas as a model for what Irving's could be. That bridge helped attract new development, restaurants and life to the area just south of the Trinity River.
"No question. We're seeing that kind of development that's occurring in mixed use. A little of everything, but a major employment center and major location that people want to go," said Connell.
Right now the site of the old stadium is leased to TxDOT, which is using the lot as staging space for construction project equipment.
The City of Irving leased the land to the Department of Transportation, but Connell expects it will be rezoned so private developers can build there.
The bridge will cost $32 million, paid for by TxDOT and the City of Irving. The money is approved, Connell says, and a contractor may be on board by February.
Some people say the site as it is now is an eye-sore reminder of what used to be there, and would like to see it become a destination.
"I think it needs to be redeveloped. It's a perfect location," said Leonard Malley, who visited Irving with his wife, Jan on Friday.
Long-time Irving resident Bob Durham says he could walk to the old Cowboys games before the stadium was torn down.
"It might be a good idea, but it's a dollars and cents thing. Are we going to get enough value out of an attention-calling bridge?" Durham wondered.
Irving's economic developers think so.
"It will change the vision for that part of the Metroplex," said Connell.
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