The Dallas City Council this morning voted to move forward with plans for a cheaper alternative to the planned Margaret McDermott Bridge, the second of two iconic bridges across the Trinity River.
The vote enables city officials to pursue a new contract with famed Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava to design only the bike and pedestrian components of the I-30 bridge, rather than the entire bridge as originally planned. The Texas Department of Transportation, which has pushed to replace the 50-year-old bridge quickly, will design the rest.
“This item that we have in front of us today is good news for Dallas,” said Dave Neumann, chairman of the council’s Trinity River project committee. “We should be celebrating a $5 million dollar private donation through our Trinity Trust that will further bring economic development and improved transportation to Dallas.”
The council voted to accept the $5 million in anonymous donations, which will go toward paying Calatrava up to $10.7 million for a new contract with the city. The rest will be funded by $2.1 million in previously donated funds left unpaid in Calatrava’s original contract, and by $3.5 million on city bond money, which is expected to be repaid to the city by regional transportation funds.
Council member Angela Hunt was alone in opposing the plan, which she said was too extravagant during a time of economic troubles.
