Over the weekend, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) installed a new pedestrian bridge over U.S. Route 75.
The 201-foot, 800,000-pound arch will connect Dallas’ disconnected bike and pedestrian trails.
"I’ve been waiting for a long time for this," Randy Hefner, a local cyclist told WFAA. "I always have to tell my friends in other cities Dallas has a wonderful collection of almost interconnected bike trails."
Until now, the Northaven trail on the west side of U.S.-75 and the Cottonwood Creek and White Rock trails to the east have been disconnected.
"It’s just unsafe," Jeff Kitner, president of Friends of the Northaven Trail told WFAA. "You can’t get anywhere on the other side of the highway very easily without crossing central at an unsafe crossing or going underneath the highway."
Kitner’s nonprofit worked with TxDOT, the city and county, on the $9.3 million dollar project.
"This bridge will really open up the whole city."
The bridge was preassembled east of the highway until it was ready to be hoisted up and installed.
The bridge still needs to be connected to its approaches on either end. TxDOT says the bridge will be operational by later this fall.
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Source: WFAA
