What size is Klyde Warren Park?
• 5.2 acres (located between Pearl and St. Paul Streets over the existing Woodall Rodgers Freeway)
• 1,045 feet long
• 210 feet wide
• Approximately 3,000 person capacity on main lawn in picnic seating
When will construction be complete?
Construction on the deck plaza began in October 2009. The base of the park was completed in the Fall of 2011 and amenities are expected to be complete in Fall 2012.
How will the bridge and tunnel be constructed?
Klyde Warren 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. There are no steel beams. The bridge structure is supported by over 300 concrete box beams and 11,300 cubic yards of concrete for the columns that support the beams. These are modified versions of the beams commonly used on Dallas highways.
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 Klyde Warren 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 much weight does the deck support?
The amount of weight the deck will support varies with location. The deck has been designed and engineered to support the specific park elements that are planned for each location, plus the people and equipment that will be present.
What is the construction timeline?
Deck Construction Milestone Dates*:
Deck
beams started to be laid in October 2010
Base
completed in Fall 2011
Klyde Warren Park Completion in Fall 2012
*Please note: these milestones are all contingent upon weather conditions
How much does Klyde Warren Park cost?
The cost to build the deck, amenities, landscaping, and an operational cushion is $110 million. Approximately $106 million has
been raised to date, funding deck plaza construction and all of the park amenities. The Woodall Rodgers Park
Foundation is currently seeking to raise the final $4 million to fund operations and programming once open to the public.
How is Klyde Warren Park funded?
Construction is funded through a public-private partnership:
City of Dallas 2006 Bond Program: $20 million
TX Department of Transportation: $20 million
Federal American Road and Recovery Act: $16.7 million
Private donations from supporters like you: $49.3 million and counting....
The Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation continues to raise money through private donations for operating and programming Klyde Warren Park.
Who will run Klyde Warren Park?
Klyde Warren Park is operated through a public-private partnership. The City of Dallas will own the amenities and the land it is built upon while the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation will be responsible for raising the estimated $3 million annual operating budget each year and will manage all programming, operations and maintenance.
All maintenance and work on the tunnel underneath the deck and on Woodall Rodgers Freeway remains the responsibility of the Texas Department of Transportation.
What about parking?
Approximately 21 curbside parking spaces
along the eastbound and westbound frontage roads of Woodall Rodgers Freeway will
be provided. Klyde Warren Park is in the process of entering into a licensing agreement with Lincoln
Property Company to use garage parking (1,300 spots) at 2000 McKinney 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.
Is Klyde Warren Park LEED certified?
Klyde Warren 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 Project Manager for the park 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.
Café and Restaurant:
- The Café and project buildings will be commissioned using sustainable standards.
- The Foundation will use 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.
How will Klyde Warren 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.
When complete, how will Klyde Warren 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.
What is the landscaping plan for Klyde Warren Park?
Klyde Warren Park will add 322 trees to the landscape of Dallas from six different species, Shumard's Red Oaks, Bur Oaks, Pond Cypresses, River Birches, Chinese Pistaches, and Lacebark Elms. Landscaping will also include 37 native and adaptive Texas plant species throughout the park's two botanical gardens and other amenities.
What security is planned?
When Klyde Warren Park opens, the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation will provide full-time security on site, monitoring the park day and night. The park will have hours of operation and be well-lit at all times to ensure visitor safety.
Will Klyde Warren Park be lit at night?
The park will have both security and architectural accent lighting throughout.
What fire safety measures will be in place in the tunnel?
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.
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
In the cutaway, there is a 16’ x 16’ clearance for cars, then there is a multi-layered cake over the right of way. 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.
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.