Huitt-Zollars, the supervising engineering firm, told the city in a letter dated May 25 that there are two possible fixes — or "cable system retrofit alternatives," according to Broadnax — that might resolve the vibration issues. One, the firm said, involves replacing rods and sockets connecting the arches to the bridge.
The other involves replacing the entire cable assembly — and, essentially, starting over.
Huitt-Zollars' vice president Charles Quade told the city that depending on the fix, repairs should take between eight and 15 months. And it could cost — again, an estimate here, because the contractor hasn't been consulted — between $2 million and $6 million.
"We must keep in mind that doing nothing is always an option," Lee Kleinman, chair of the council's Mobility Solutions, Infrastructure & Sustainability Committee, told me Thursday. He wants city staff to come to his committee next month and explain what the hell's going on.
"Why spend any more money on it," Kleinman said, "when there are so many more needs in the city?"
casperitl wrote:The incredible part of it all is that WE allow it to continue. WE meaning you reading this. Time to put a stop to it. Dallas can't afford more of this.
exelone31 wrote:casperitl wrote:The incredible part of it all is that WE allow it to continue. WE meaning you reading this. Time to put a stop to it. Dallas can't afford more of this.
What are the avenues to put a stop to this? What is your suggested outcome?
When NBC 5 last reported on problems with the Hike and Bike bridge in January 2018, city officials hoped the problems could be solved within months.
A year later, an email from the City of Dallas Wednesday said the city is still waiting for information from the State of Texas about the cost of necessary work on the cables. The email said the cost could be as high as $10 million and up to 36 months of work could be required.
The_Overdog wrote:I still don't get why it can't be opened. Under what case study is a few walkers or joggers going to be in more danger than the tons of cars already passing by?
1) The Highway isn't supported by the cables. Only the pedestrian portion.
2) the cables have failed stress testing; therefore they are deemed unsafe for use.
cowboyeagle05 wrote:Except that cars are much more protected from flying cables than pedestrians and bike riders.
It’ll Be Another Three Years and $7 Million Before We Can Walk the Margaret McDermott Bridge
Last Friday, Assistant City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry sent the council a memo detailing their options. TxDOT offered two: one will cost $7.09 million and “involves fabricating and testing new lower cable anchorage assemblies, replacing all existing cables, and installing additional cable dampers.” The other is a more localized option, retrofitting instead of replacing the assembly with a new lower socket and a larger anchor rod. But the state couldn’t price that one “due to a level of uncertainty of fabrication engineering and non-standard components.” So replacement it is.
It will take 34 months for this to be completed from the date the City Council gives its OK. Al-Ghafry says he plans to have this before the Council for a vote during next week’s meeting. So we’re looking at a total of $122 million and nearly seven years before residents can hypothetically walk across this bridge, which is structurally separate from the stretch of Interstate 30 that it borders. That roadway is an overpass; the pedestrian bridge is accented with Santiago Calatrava-designed arches that are anchored by those cables. Which means it wasn’t necessary in the first place if you were only looking to give walkers and bikers a place to walk and bike.
DPatel304 wrote:[b]
Whelp, at least there is a plan in place. I know not too long ago, one article mentioned just leaving it broken and never fixing it. While that would be the cheapest option, I'd seriously hate to see that happen. This isn't really that much better, but hopefully when this is all said and done, we'll have a nice loop for people to bike around the Trinity River.
DPatel304 wrote:Whelp, at least there is a plan in place. I know not too long ago, one article mentioned just leaving it broken and never fixing it. While that would be the cheapest option, I'd seriously hate to see that happen. This isn't really that much better, but hopefully when this is all said and done, we'll have a nice loop for people to bike around the Trinity River.
Jbarn wrote:I’m sorry, but everybody involved with this debacle should no longer be employed.
casperitl wrote:Dallas City Council votes to send bill of $7.1 million to Trinity Park Conservancy for bridge repair
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/dallas- ... group-fund
Does the Trinity Park Conservancy pay the bill and own the engineering issues or do they not pay the bill and cast themselves in poor light. Tough position for them to be in. No win situation it seems.
tamtagon wrote:If you think Dallas is bad, look at Atlanta.
Jbarn wrote:casperitl wrote:Dallas City Council votes to send bill of $7.1 million to Trinity Park Conservancy for bridge repair
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/dallas- ... group-fund
Does the Trinity Park Conservancy pay the bill and own the engineering issues or do they not pay the bill and cast themselves in poor light. Tough position for them to be in. No win situation it seems.
Dallas has got to be one of the most poorly run big cities in this country. Why don’t we hear about these boondoggles happening in Fort Worth time after time like we do in Dallas? Do other cities have audit procedures, oversight, and accountability that we seem to lacking in this city? And if so, why don’t we have that? Which department will be audited next and determined to have waisted or lost millions of taxpayer money? This city can be a very frustrating place to live.
Jbarn wrote:tamtagon wrote:If you think Dallas is bad, look at Atlanta.
We could do better though, and it seems like we keep making the same costly mistakes over and over again due to the city not having proper audit controls in place. There is a great lack of accountability in this city.
Hannibal Lecter wrote:^ LOL. Griggs is just another politician with his own set of boondoggles. How many tens of millions of dollars did the city waste on his stupid streetcar? The thing is so useless they can't even charge a dollar to ride it, because it would be too embarrassing to see it totally empty instead of just mostly empty.
Hannibal Lecter wrote:I suspect that few of you here are old enough to remember when Time Magazine ran the cover story "Dallas: The City That Works". In the 1980s we were the city that everyone else envied. Then one thing happened: 14-1.
Before 14-1 we had a city council that represented the entire city, not their little fiefdom. Just as importantly, they respected the city charter and let the city manager run the day-to-day show.
Hannibal Lecter wrote:http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,924718,00.html
A City That Still Works
When it comes to smooth efficiency, neither Rome under Mussolini nor Richard Daley's Chicago could outshine modern day Dallas. Potholes are filled within three days; a clogged sewer is usually cleared within 40 minutes; streets, sidewalks, bridges and water and sanitation systems are kept in superb condition. Indeed, the Urban Institute in Washington proclaims that Dallas' management of its public facilities could stand as a model for large cities all over the U.S.
While many other towns and cities are slowly crumbling, Dallas has established its reputation as a city that works. The reasons include a favorable climate,...
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