The groundbreaking for the Southern Gateway Project happened on Wednesday afternoon in Dallas.
The project has been in the making for around 17 years.
One of the parts of the project includes the Oak Cliff Deck Park. The park will be above I-35E between Marsalis and Ewing Avenues.
Councilmen Scott Griggs sees the project as a good thing for his district, and a way to bring the area together.
“I’m excited, and it just takes a little bit of time, but great things are happening,” he said.
Griggs said ever since I-35E was initially built, it split the community in half.
“This park is going to help reunite it… so people can walk from one side to the other…bring our neighborhoods back together and stitch everyone back up,” he said.
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Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price said he had “mixed emotions” about the project, and doesn’t think the park will be enough to reconnect the community.
“All you’re doing is connecting the east to the west… your jumping the freeway, I mean it’s already connected,” he said.
He said more needs to be done to revitalize the area, and wants to see people in the community working and helping with the project.
The park is expected to be completed by 2022.
