Irving Has Vision For New Signature Bridge To City
IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) - If all goes as planned, one day soon the city of Irving will have its own Signature Bridge.
After months of discussion a formal plan was offered to the city council this week. The bridge would connect a soon-to-be-built DART rail station with the old Texas Stadium site where the Dallas Cowboys used to play.
"This bridge will stand out," says Irving's Chief Development Officer Doug Janeway. "It will be a gateway to the city of Irving; something that as you drive up you'll definitely know it's there."
Janeway thinks the bridge will be an iconic landmark, linking DART and developable land on the east side of highway 114 with whatever major development finally goes into the old Texas Stadium site. "TxDOT was going to build this bridge anyway, what the city of Irving is adding is the 'Wow' factor to it."
The design comes from the Huitt-Zollars company of Dallas. Besides helping develop the Addison Circle, the firm is also the structural engineer of record for both Calatrava bridges in Dallas.
Janeway argues Irving's offering will be unique. "It has towers, cables, has translucent canopies, to provide protection from the sun for folks walking across the bridge. It also has some translucent panels on the side rails so you can see out but yet be protected from the wind, the heat, those kinds of things."
CBS 11 News took the artists rendering to people who live or work in Irving for their thoughts. "It's beautiful, and I love it anything good that happens to Irving," said former, long-time resident Donna Hoskins.
Her friend Chris Van Pelt agreed. "It's about time they put something over here for South Irving; we love South Irving, but we get left out of a lot of things."
A couple of workers employed in Irving added their support. "It'll take the place of Texas Stadium being gone" said Lynn Weaver adding, I've been here all my life and with it gone, it's weird."
Michah Hazelwood added his support of the entire 114-183 interchange that's been under reconstruction for months. "What they're doing now is nice, opening up the highways, things like that, so I think it'd be convenient and it looks nice."
But not everyone was blown away by the look, judging from the reactions of the Sanners of Irving.
"I guess it will do the job," said Dwayne Sanner, "but I don't see it being a spectacular bridge, actually." Wife Laura agreed. "Well, it's not a good effort. It looks fine to me. We don't have to look like Dallas. We're Irving," she said.
As Janeway pointed out, TxDOT was already going to build the bridge; Irving's extras will run about $9 million, that money already collected in a user fund from the old Cowboys days at Texas Stadium.
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