The Dallas City Council unanimously authorized funding for a new deck park over Interstate 35E with the hopes of physically reconnecting north and east Oak Cliff, areas that had been torn apart decades ago by years of highway building.The vote at Wednesday’s council meeting will allow the Texas Department of Transportation to move forward with building the foundations and part of the deck park as part of the Southern Gateway highway redevelopment project. Construction is expected to begin later this summer.The proposed deck park, which would eventually be a 5.5 acre park, would stretch from Marsalis Avenue to Ewing Avenue. It was part of recommendations from the Texas Department of Transportation's CityMAP report last year that suggested a revamp of that part of I-35E now dubbed the Southern Gateway, as well as the city streets around it.The study estimated the changes could spur more than $166 million in development for one of the poorest parts of Dallas.As part of Wednesday’s vote, the council authorized about $7 million in funding to build the full foundations for the project, but only half the deck, from Ewing Avenue to Lancaster Road.The cost to build the full foundations but only half the deck park is about $38.5 million, though the city would only pay for 20 percent, or about $7 million. The rest of the project would be paid for by the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Continue reading...
Oak Cliff Deck Park Gets Unanimous OK From Dallas City Council
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