What size is The Park?
• 5.2 acres (located between Pearl and St. Paul Streets over the existing Woodall Rodgers Freeway)
• 1,045 feet long
• 210 feet wide
• 2,000 person capacity on main lawn
When will construction be complete?
Construction on the deck plaza began in October 2009. The base of the park is expected to be complete in the Spring of 2012 with amenities expected to be complete in Fall 2012.
How will the bridge and tunnel be constructed?
The Park will create a bridge over the freeway, consisting of concrete pre-stressed box beams set on columns constructed outside the current walls of the Freeway and supported by a new center wall. There will be approximately 1,200 linear feet of freeway enclosed by the deck forming a short tunnel. The concrete beams will be arranged in groups with spacing in between the groups. Concrete slabs will span the spaces connecting to the bottoms of the beams and forming trenches. The trenches will act like planter boxes, allowing the tree to grow to the desired size. A combination of lightweight fill and lightweight earth will cover the trenches and beams to provide the planting material for the landscaping of the park. The majority of the park will have a 12-inch layer of topsoil with the trenches providing the depth of soil needed for trees.
What will the deck be made of?
The majority of the structure that supports the park is concrete. The bridge structure will include over 300 concrete box beams and 11,300 cubic yards of concrete for the columns that support the beams.
How many steel beams are used?
There are no steel beams. The deck will be supported by concrete beams which are modified versions of the beams commonly used on Dallas highways. There are over 300 beams with a total length of over 37,000 linear feet.
How much dirt and fill is used, and what does it consist of?
The weight of the fill over the structure was a key element in the structural design and needed to be as light as possible. It is comprised of two materials, a light-weight soil designed to support the growth of the grass, plants and trees; and lightweight fill. The fill height across the park varies from 1.2’ to 5.8’, a maximum of 2’ of the light weight soil and the rest will be lightweight fill. The park will need about 15,000 cubic yards of material and it will be about a 50/50 split between the lightweight fill and soil.
Do the trees have roots? How does the grass grow? How do you water the plants and where does the water go?
The trees will be located in trenches designed to provide room for their roots. The trenches will act like planter boxes, allowing the tree to grow to the desired size then constraining the roots so no further growth will occur. There will be an irrigation system installed in the park to water the grass, trees and other plantings. Between the deck structure and the soil there is a drainage mat which is designed to collect excess moisture and wick it to the plants. Excess water will be collected and drained into the storm sewer system.
How much sod is being used?
Approximately 40,000 square feet of lawn with 12” of topsoil.
How is all of this supported?
A series of structural columns will be constructed outside of the existing Woodall Rodgers retaining walls and a wall will be constructed at the centerline. Concrete box beams will span between columns supporting the deck structure.
How much weight does the deck support?
The amount of weight the deck will support varies with location. The deck has been designed to support the specific park elements that are planned for each location, plus the people and equipment that will be present.
In the cutaway, there is a 16’ x 16’ clearance for cars, then there is a multi-layered cake over the ROW. How deep is each layer and what is the purpose?
There are two general areas – the beam areas and the trench areas. Working from the bottom up for each:
Beam Areas:
Fireproofing (1") to protect the deck structure;
Concrete Box Beams (4" – 6") to support the weight of the park elements;
Concrete slab (8") to provide working platform for construction, support park elements;
Waterproofing/drainage mat (1/2") to collect moisture for plants, prevent seepage into tunnel;
Soil (varies, 12" minimum) for plant growth.
Trench Areas:
Fireproofing (1") to protect the deck structure;
Concrete trenches (8") to support the trees and utilities;
Waterproofing/drainage mat (1/2") to collect moisture for plants, prevent seepage into tunnel;
Lightweight fill and soil (3.7’ lightweight fill, 2’ soil typical) for plant growth or soil and trees.
What is the construction timeline?
Deck Construction Milestone Dates*:
Deck
beams to start October 2010
Base to
complete Spring 2012
Park Completion Fall 2012
*Please note: these are all weather contingent
How much does The Park cost?
The deck plaza
construction costs approximately $53 million. Approximately $77 million has
been raised to date, funding deck plaza construction and some of the park amenities. The Woodall Rodgers Park
Foundation is currently seeking to raise $30 million to complete The Park’s
amenities and fund operations and programming.
How is The Park funded?
Construction is funded through a public-private partnership including $20 million in bond funds from the city of Dallas, $20 million in highway funds from the state and federal government through TX DOT and $20 million from private donations. In March, the Park was selected to receive $16.7 million in stimulus funds that are specifically for transportation enhancement construction. The Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation continues to raise private donations, including the naming rights of park amenities, to fund amenity construction, operations and programming.
Who will run it?
The Park is funded through a public-private partnership. The City of Dallas will own the Park and the Woodall Rodgers Foundation will manage programming, operations and maintenance.
Who is the development team?
Landscape Architect:
The Office of James Burnett
Architect: Thomas
Phifer and Associates
Engineering: Jacobs
Engineering Group
Program Consultant: Biederman Redevelopment Ventures Corporation; ETM Associates
Management Consultant: Biederman Redevelopment Ventures Corporation
Fountains: Fluidity
Design Consultants
Lighting: Focus
Lighting
How will The Park improve bicycle and pedestrian connectivity?
The city street interchanges will be upgraded for pedestrian/cyclist movements resulting in improved safety including new pedestrian signal lights, enhanced crosswalks, and ADA accessibility ramps.
McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA) will be adding a trolley extension down an existing lane of Olive Street from McKinney Avenue to Bryan Street. This will include a trolley stop at The Park for patron’s access. This is a separate City of Dallas/MATA project with whom the Foundation is coordinating.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has bus stops along Woodall Rodgers Frontage Road at Harwood, Akard, St. Paul and Olive Streets. DART also has light rail access within a (walking distance) half mile at Akard, St. Paul and Pearl Streets – These both provide connectivity and park patron access through the extensive mass transit system and mobility that DART offers throughout the City of Dallas and the surrounding area.
The Friends of Katy Trail retained Alta to design an urban bike trail leading from Victory to the Park via Harwood.
Linda Koop and Angela Hunt are in early planning stages for a “modern streetcar” – rubber tires, electric cars running on their own track – to create a circulator system through greater downtown districts.
What about parking?
Approximately 21 curbside parking spaces
along the eastbound and westbound frontage roads of Woodall Rodgers Freeway will
be provided. The Park has entered into a licensing agreement with Lincoln
Property Company to use garage parking (1,300 spots) and to share valet. It is
anticipated that a City of Dallas initiative will provide additional parking in
and around the Park and Arts District.
What is happening to the St. Paul exit ramp and Harwood Street Bridge?
The St. Paul off-ramp will be straightened from its current radius ramp movement. This will allow the St. Paul traffic to make a left turn onto the eastbound frontage road which is currently not permitted. This improves access to the Arts District from St. Paul.
The Harwood Street Bridge will be closed to create a pedestrian bridge and great lawn. The Arts District Strategic Plan recommends Harwood be made a two-way street on either side of the park which would improve access to the neighboring museums, access to parking garages, and automobile movements around the park.
When complete, how will The Park improve traffic?
The main arteries from Uptown to Downtown and the Arts District are accommodated via Akard, Olive, Ruth, Pearl and St. Paul Streets. The Level of Service (LOS) will be maintained and improved compared to the existing LOS conditions as reflected in extensive VISSM and micro-simulation modeling software. The streets and frontage roads at the perimeter of the park will be enhanced with improved pedestrian sidewalks, crosswalks and curbing.
Will TxDOT be able to expand Woodall Rodgers Freeway in the future?
The deck foundation is designed and being constructed in a way that will allow the future provision of an additional lane of highway on Woodall Rodgers Freeway in both directions. This gives TxDOT flexibility to expand the freeway as future traffic volume increases if desired.
Is The Park LEED certified?
The Park will incorporate many green and sustainable elements. The Foundation has placed emphasis on environmentally friendly design and construction from the project’s onset. The Program Manager for the project is a LEED Accredited Professional and has multiple projects that have already achieved LEED certification. Although there was not a LEED category for a Park at the time of its design the Foundation and technical team incorporated a number of LEED principles. A few examples:
Trees:
- The Park incorporates the use of native tree and plant species. The Park’s trees will sequester an estimated 7 tons of carbon per year at maturity.
Water:
- The water features will use a water reclamation system and a double purification system substantially reducing the use of potable water and the disposal of “dirty” water.
- Over 80% of the park is irrigated with a high-efficiency capillary irrigation sub-surface system (KISSS). The high-efficiency irrigation system will limit water lost to overspray and evaporation. This will save about 350,000 gallons over a conventional overhead spray system.
Energy:
- High-efficiency LED lighting with a lighting management system has been incorporated and will result in annual savings of approximately 94,000 kilowatts of electricity.
- Solar recycling and trash receptacles will compact the discarded material and saves on emptying frequency
Cafe:
- The Café and project buildings will be commissioned using sustainable standards.
- The Foundation is reviewing the possible use of Geothermal Energy for cooling and heating.
- Day-lighting design methods reduce electricity demand for lighting.
- An extended roof plain for shading and highly reflective roofing reduce the heat island effect.
Will the landscaping include native Texas plants?
The Park will have 322 trees. Most trees will be the Texas-native Panache Red Oaks. Other trees include Bur Oaks, Cypress, Birch, Pistachio and Drake Elm. Landscaping will include 32 native Texas species out of 37 total species.
What security is planned?
When the park opens, there will be full-time security on site monitoring the park day and night funded by the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation.
Will The Park be lit at night?
The park will have both security and architectural accent lighting throughout.
What fire safety measures will be in place?
Good air flow for daily operation and emergency control in the event of a fire will be managed by 26 jet fans placed strategically in the tunnels in both directions. Detection of fire or other emergencies will be provided by closed circuit cameras providing observation of the entire area of both tunnels and fire alarm pull boxes installed at 300 foot intervals on both inner and outer walls. Fire fighting capabilities will be provided by 14 fire water outlets and 7 handheld fire extinguishers in each tunnel.