Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Lights Up -- So what is next w/the TRP? (Houston: neighborhood, organic)

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by dallasboi

....you've got to be kidding me!!!!!!...Nobody is complaining about the money it took anymore(that was at least two years ago!!).When people see this thing lit up at night the focus will not be on how much water is running under it trust me.Your mix emotions are coming from your brain having a hard time grasping something to bash. Get over it Dallas is doing everything it needs to do to become a more interesting city....For some odd reason you Hate that...why?...No one will ever know. But I do know that The face of Dallas is changing for the good. Its so refreshing and impressive to see how all of the things that Dallas has planned for the last 12 years is coming to fruition.Dallas is really turning into the city it set out to be...And people hate that...I love it.

Notable districts created since 2000

*West Village
*Harwood International
*Victory park
*AT&T Performing Arts Center-Arts District
*Lower Oaklawn-Design District

Notable single developments built since 2000

*Magaret Hunt Hill Bridge
*Trinity Audubon center(did i spell that right?)
*Latino Cultural Center
*American Airlines Center
*Hunt Tower
*The Merc
*NorthPark Expansion-Yes it counts.That Mall has Totally changed!
*Convention Center Hotel-UNTOUCHABLE!!!
*Woodall Rodgers Deck park-Game changer
*Museum Tower-
*Museum of Nature & Science-NOTHING like it in Texas
*The creation of the Green Line
*The creation of the Orange line-TO DFW AIRPORT!!!!!!!!!
*Parkland Hospital-Largest in the world.
*Trinity Lakes...oops!!...not quite

Dallas is on its way to play with the Big boys....oh and the other two bridges over the "Ditch" are now also fully funded. Metro Matt you can start two brand new threads complaining about what we should've done with the money instead(the bridges will still be built)....See...Now you have TWO new bridges to freshly start hating.

Its putting the cart before the horse.

I don't care if the thing has laser lights shooting off of it at night the thought of a bridge like this with no water underneath would bring a WTF out of most rational people.

Cool idea, poorly executed plan IMO.

[Exult.Q36]

Dallas haters are going to hate regardless this bridge is beautiful...Perfectly executed plan by Big D.

[Dallaz]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Its putting the cart before the horse.

I don't care if the thing has laser lights shooting off of it at night the thought of a bridge like this with no water underneath would bring a WTF out of most rational people.

Cool idea, poorly executed plan IMO.

It doesn't matter we are gonna get lakes under the bridge. You are negative all the time at least you can be positive for one day.

[Dallaz]

Here's the lighting ceremony on NBC 5 news

The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Now Bathed in Light | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Here's another one from News 8

http://www.wfaa.com/video?id=137068078&sec=553117

[Dallaz]

Taken by commerce

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7167/6...80776a0e_b.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6...b80070a9_b.jpg

[Lakewooder]

Don't worry there will be water under it in the spring...

[Made_it_To_the_Metroplex]

Originally Posted by Dallaz

Taken by commerce

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7167/6...80776a0e_b.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6...b80070a9_b.jpg

Just spectacular! I for one am glad this is nearing completion - it's a great visual reminder of more great things to come, from what I've read.

[Dallaz]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Don't worry there will be water under it in the spring...

Is it because the river will flood?

[rantanamo]

The flood plain is pretty full right now after the rain the last couple of days. To address some comments. The levees are protecting Dallas right now. The Army Corps did a study that included core samples and concluded that the silt being from upstream as well as sand used in the initial construction would sink with new construction, so the tollway or anything else couldn't be built until it was corrected. They were then to recommend a way to rebuild and recommend monies to be allocated. Before people cry about tax money, we're talking about something that's in place to keep all of the innercity areas from becoming a shallow lake. There are also huge insurance implications. For whatever reason the Army Corps stopped short of a recommendation. This is the way I understand the situation from following it on Dallasmetropolis. I imagine there are political ranglings because of the Tollway that are part of the delay. The same tollway that caused delays on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and Project Pegasus because it was claimed neither could be built without the consideration of the tollway's design. So the MHH bridge had to be redesigned to go over the levees and to have room for possible future tollway clearance and ramps. This took away time and money and caused the suspension element to span less of the bridge. So for those wondering, yes, the bridge is truly cable supported, but not for the entire span thanks to a redesign from the original span. Not to mention TxDOT got tired of delays and will start on the horseshoe project(Formerly part of Project Pegasus), which is the complete rebuilt of the I-30 and I-35E spans as well as their connecting interchange known as the downtown mixmaster. The I-30 part will also have signature elements. The new documents show two large arches running the length of the span holding up the frontage/pedestrian bridges on the sides. Its preliminary, but they are technical documents. We'll know by the time they start this time next year.

As for whether a bridge needs to be designed to span a "more significant body of water", that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever read or heard. Bridges are built to span, not to span over water. There are more spectacular and elegant structures that span all kinds of things, including city blocks, gorges, valleys, small streams, swamp land and even neighborhoods. I'm guessing the same will be said when the I-30 signature elements are revealed?

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by Dallaz

It doesn't matter we are gonna get lakes under the bridge. You are negative all the time at least you can be positive for one day.

Pshh...miniature lakes/ponds & dried up creek beds lol

Go down to the Texas Gulf Coast if you wanna see some functional bridges that look good too.

MHHB is nice, but too over the top for Dallas IMO. Then again Dallas is known for building tacky stuff so it kinda goes with the attitude of the city.

The D/FW metro is the largest land locked metro in the US meaning there are no significant bodies of water found for hundreds of miles. I've never been much of a fan for lakes anyways. There are very few lakes I would actually swim in.