WOODALL RODGERS PARK FOUNDATION TO RECEIVE STIMULUS FUNDING FOR DECK PLAZA

DALLAS — The Woodall Rodgers Park Plaza Foundation is set to receive $16.7 million in federal stimulus funds toward the construction of a deck plaza over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway in downtown Dallas. The Texas Department of Transportation Commission awarded the funds. The project will connect downtown, the Arts District, Uptown, and Victory Park, and a 5-acre urban park called The Woodall Rodgers Park will be built on top of the deck plaza structure. Plans for the $80 million deck park include jogging trails, a dog park, a children’s playground, a restaurant, a performance pavilion, a water sculpture, and an area for games. The Office of James Burnett, in conjunction with engineering firm Jacobs Carter Burgess, is designing the park. Bjerke Management Solutions is project manager. The Woodall Rodgers Freeway Deck Plaza is funded and developed through a public/private partnership including the Texas Department of Transportation, the City of Dallas, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and the private sector’s Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation. Utility construction began in February; deck construction is slated for late summer or early fall. The shovel-ready transportation enhancement project is estimated to create 1,000 immediate jobs and stimulate additional economic development and job growth in the future.