Ronald Kirk Bridge
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name = Ronald Kirk Pedestrian Bridge
|image = LamarMcKinneyBridge.jpg
|image_size =
|alt =
|caption = Ronald Kirk Bridge in 2015
|coordinates = {{coord|32.780901|-96.822768|format=dms|name=Ronald Kirk Bridge|type:landmark_region:US-TX|display=inline,title}}
|official_name = Ronald Kirk Bridge
|other_name = Lamar-McKinney Viaduct, Continental Avenue Bridge
|carries = Pedestrians (since June 15, 2014)
|crosses = Trinity River
|locale = Continental Avenue in Dallas, Texas
|named_for = Ron Kirk
|owner = City of Dallas
|maint =
|id =
|designer = Francis Dey Hughes
|design = Multi-span plate girder bridge
|material = concrete, steel
|length = {{Convert|2105|ft}}
|width = {{Convert|60|ft}}
|height =
|spans = 43
|pierswater =
|load =
|clearance =
|below =
|life =
|builder = L. H. Lay Company
|fabricator =
|begin = {{Start date|1929}}
|complete = {{End date|1930}}
|open = {{Start date|1932}}
|closed = {{End date|2013}} (vehicular)
|replaced_by = Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge (vehicular)
|extra = {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes
| name = Lamar-McKinney Bridge
| area = {{Convert|3|acre}}
| added = October 5, 2015
| mpsub = [https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/AdvancedSearch/MPS?mpsid=54 Historic Road Infrastructure of Texas, 1866-1965]
| refnum = 15000708{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/NR/pdfs/15000708/15000708.pdf|last=Herrington|first=Jeff|date=November 14, 2014|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=August 28, 2018}}
}}
}}
The Ronald Kirk Bridge is a pedestrian bridge over the Trinity River in Dallas, Texas. It connects Downtown Dallas and West Dallas, paralleling the 2012 Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge for vehicles, and the 1930 Texas and Pacific Railway Trinity River Bridge.
History
Constructed as the Lamar-McKinney Viaduct in 1933, the original road bridge was built to carry vehicles across the periodically swelling Trinity River to West Dallas. It was completed 27 years after the river's 1908 flood that submerged most of the area.
The bridge was renamed the Ronald Kirk Bridge in 2016 from its former name, the Continental Avenue Bridge. It was renamed in honor of the first African-American mayor of Dallas, Ronald Kirk.{{Cite web |title=Fox 4 News-Dallas Bridge Named for Former Mayor Ron Kirk |url=http://www.fox4news.com/news/152921363-story |access-date=7 July 2016}}
=Restoration=
The bridge had fallen into a state of disrepair by 2010, when plans were being developed to reconstruct Continental Avenue and the bridge. During the reconstruction of the bridge it was decided that there was no need for it to carry vehicular traffic, since the nearby Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge was completed in 2012 to do so. The design as a footbridge complemented the nearby open park plan for Klyde Warren Park, as a recreation amenity.{{Cite web |title=KERA News-'It's Fabulous:' Dallas' Continental Bridge Reopens As A Park -- No Cars Allowed |url=http://keranews.org/post/its-fabulous-dallas-continental-bridge-reopens-park-no-cars-allowed |access-date=17 June 2014}}
The Ronald Kirk Bridge reopened on Sunday, June 15, 2014 (Father's Day). It opened with a playground, a splash park, lounge chairs, human-sized chess boards, and a ceiling of cloth to shade the area, along with many trails surrounding the bridge in the Trinity River Basin and on the levees.{{Cite web |title=Dallas Morning News-All-day party celebrates Continental bridge reopening |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/best-southwest/headlines/20140615-all-day-party-celebrates-continental-bridge-reopening.ece |access-date=17 June 2014}}
This bridge is part of the greater Trinity River Project.{{Cite web |title=Trinity River Project-Continental Ave. Bridge |url=http://www.trinityrivercorridor.com/recreation/continental-ave-bridge.html |access-date=17 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714194903/http://www.trinityrivercorridor.com/recreation/continental-ave-bridge.html |archive-date=14 July 2014}}
See also
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Transport|Engineering|Texas}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category-inline|Lamar-McKinney Bridge}}
- {{HAER |survey=TX-90 |id=tx0958 |title=Lamar-McKinney Street Viaduct, Spanning Trinity River at Continental Street, Dallas, Dallas County, TX |photos=8 |data=13 |cap=1}}
{{Dallas}}
{{NRHP in Texas}}
Category:Pedestrian bridges in Texas
Category:Trinity River (Texas)
Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Texas
Category:Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas