The city of Irving and the Texas Department of Transportation are working together to build a bridge from the former Texas Stadium site to a future DART station. The bridge would also connect drivers from the state Highway 114 interchange to the stadium itself.
For the past year, the city looked at various bridge designs before presenting a final recommendation to Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne.
After about a year of planning and looking at various bridge designs, the city of Irving's Chief Development Officer Doug Janeway was taken aback when his final bridge recommendation didn't meet the approval of Mayor Beth Van Duyne.
When Janeway presented the design to Mayor Van Duyne at Wednesday's work session, she compared it to the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. "I'm looking at this, going this is like the ugly cousin... I'm sorry," she said.
Mayor Van Duyne wants to revisit other options, but City Council member Gerald Farris said he was pleasantly surprised at the renderings.
“Everybody is entitled to their opinion,” Farris said. “I thought the bridge looks pretty good... You want something that's going to be, that sets you apart from other cities, and I think this is going to do that.”
The bridge is a partnership project between the city of Irving and TxDOT, totaling more than $15 million.
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City officials hope to see bridge construction begin within the next five years. With a number of transportation plans still in the decision phase, it's difficult for the city to map out a concrete timeline.
"Right now that bridge construction timing is dependent upon when TxDOT actually builds 183 and the diamond interchange phase two project at Texas Stadium," said Janeway.
Janeway hopes the bridge will become a valuable asset to Irving as the city continues to develop.
"This new bridge will add a signature element to the city of Irving,” said Chief Development Officer Doug Janeway. “When you come to the city of Irving, you will know you're here, in the city of Irving."
